Dear Diary, Love Hermione
by Vance McGill
Summary: Book 1 of the Dear Diary series. In the summer of 1991, Hermione Granger discovers something that changes her life – she's a witch! Follow Hermione, via the pages of her trusty diary as she enters her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Side-fic of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". Ships: Hermione/Ron - budding friendship, though strongly focused
1. Meet Minerva McGonagall

**Title: **Dear Diary, Love Hermione, Book 1**  
Summary: **In the summer of 1991, Hermione Granger discovers something that changes her life – she's a witch! Follow Hermione, via the pages of her trusty diary as she enters her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She meets new friends and finds herself in the middle of an exciting mystery... all while trying to keep up with her schoolwork!  
**Rating**: T

**Disclaimer: **J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just write stories based on her lovely books. Many quotes in this story will be from the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, American version. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: This story and the writing style is inspired by a Lily/James fan-fiction called "Commentarius" by B.C. Daily. In no way am I trying to take anything from that brilliant author. I love that story.

For those of my readers who follow my "Bonds of Time" story, **I will be continuing that.** I am starting this story as a result of a plot bunny that would not go away! So yes, both of these stories will be worked on and updated over time.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Meet Minerva McGonagall**

**Friday, June 19th, 1991 – 22:05**

Dear Diary...

That is how I am supposed to be starting these things right? With a "Dear Diary"? Yes, I think so.

Sorry, this is my first diary I've ever had, and it does not help that I've had a crazy day today. A REALLY crazy day. I don't know really where to begin. I really wanted to write in my diary today, because it was a very nice "school's out!" present from Daddy.

Maybe I should introduce myself.

I am Hermione Granger, age eleven, and I live with my Mum and Daddy, Richard and Helen, in Oxford, England. I just "graduated" from primary school today.

Is it weird to introduce myself to a diary? I know I am just writing my thoughts, but as I said I've never had a diary before so I don't know what I should be writing in it.

Plus... well...

Umm...

Anyway... I feel like I can tell you anything and I've never had anyone that I could tell anything to. Well, there is my parents... but... I meant like friends. I've never really had any good friends.

Nobody at primary school is really friendly to me. I... er... this is hard to admit, but that is what diaries are for, I suppose. I get teased a lot at school. Like for instance, a couple weeks ago I wanted to answer a question my teacher Miss Tracy (yes it is her first name, but it is what she wanted us to call her) asked and I rose my hand eagerly to answer it and this boy in my class, Jimmy Stiggs, who is like the meanest kid around... a big bully... he mimicked me and rose his hand in the same manner as I did. Miss Tracy didn't even see it! She had her back turned to the chalkboard and Jimmy stopped when she turned around. Ugh, I was so angry and...

And... ohh, so that is what she was talking about!

Sorry, you probably don't know what I mean. I am getting ahead of myself.

Well, I was so angry, and next thing I knew, my pencil rolled off my desk and onto the floor... and I didn't touch it or bump into it or anything and it was under my book too!

I thought I was going crazy... but then today... well, something AMAZING happened. But I am getting ahead of myself. I should start from the beginning...

* * *

I was in the back seat of my Daddy's town-car as me and my parents headed home from the primary school graduation ceremony. Mum was telling Daddy about a patient of hers that had a in-grown tooth. I tried to distract myself so I wouldn't have nightmares tonight. You see, my parents are dentists and they LOVE their work. I don't see what is great about it, really. Plus they are sugar-phobes... I don't know if it is an actual phobia... I should look that up. They aren't really afraid of sugar, but they are so picky about teeth!

As we pulled onto the street where my house was, Daddy looked through the rear-view mirror at me.

"Oops," he said, "I almost forgot. Look in the pocket in the back of my seat."

I did as was requested and I found...

"A new book!" I squealed, excitably.

It was you, in fact. And when I opened it up, I soon realized the pages were blank. I looked up at Daddy as if it was a joke or something.

"It is blank!" I said, a bit offended. I thought it was fair to take offense, because I am used to thousands of words in my books already printed.

"It is a diary," Daddy said.

"Oh," I said.

As I said earlier I never had a diary before. I just never thought of having one. Don't ask me why.

"I remember being eleven years old and having many thoughts in my head," Daddy said, "I had my own journal from my father and wrote so much in it. I thought you might want a diary of your own."

I was about to say thank you... though not an eager thanks because I wasn't sure at first about having a diary... no offense. But Daddy announced we were home. I smiled and looked up...

And I saw a cat sitting on the front step of our house.

"Did you get me a cat?" I asked, grinning as I looked back at my mother.

"A cat?" Mum asked, "where?"

"There!" I said, pointing at the step.

The cat was gone. I frowned. I really like cats... for years I wanted one, but my parents never let me have one.

"Never mind," I said, sadly.

Daddy parked the car and I got out of it. As I took out my bag, I heard a coughing sound behind me and I swung around. An elderly lady with jet black hair, which was up in a bun, and an outfit that reminded me of something my principal wore, was standing a few feet away.

"Richard and Helen Granger?" the woman said, as she looked at my parents, "Parents to Hermione Granger?"

My eyes literally grew the size of saucers. I had never met this woman before in my life and she knew my name!

"Er... yes," my mother said, rather timidly and cautious.

"Excuse me," Daddy said, taking charge of the conversation, "May I ask who you are and why you are here?"

"Of course," the woman said, "My name is Minerva McGonagall. If I may, can I please accompany you inside and speak to you?"

"Is my daughter in trouble?" Daddy asked as he walked in front of me, as if to guard me.

"I think this conversation would be better in private, Mr. Granger," McGonagall said, "Away from prying neighbors."

My mother looked at my father with a mix of curiosity and worry. The woman – McGonagall – looked at me and smiled lightly. The way she smiled made me think she didn't do it very often.

"I guess that would be okay, Miss – Mrs?" Daddy said.

"Professor McGonagall or just 'Professor' would do," McGonagall said.

"Professor?" Daddy mouthed, before he led us all inside the house.

I was kind of intrigued. This woman was a Professor? A teacher? None of my teachers never wanted us to call them Professor.

"You're a Professor?" Mum asked, as we walked into the sitting room, "Of a school, I assume?"

"Yes," McGonagall answered before taking a seat on the couch, "But I would wager that you have never heard of the school which I teach at. You see, it is a school for – shall we say a special sort of child."

"Like a school for the Gifted?" Daddy asked.

_Special? Gifted?_

Surely not me! I mean... sure, I am kind of smart... but I am pretty plain in my opinion. Not really special at all. And gifted... I mean, I did win the city spelling bee last year... but that isn't very gifted. McGonagall smiled. "You could call them gifted."

She looked at me and I shivered a little. This woman was VERY intimidating.

"Miss Granger – Hermione, is it?" she asked.

I nodded timidly.

"Pleased to meet you, Hermione," McGonagall said, "May I ask you a few questions?"

I looked at my parents and, a few moments later, after glancing at each other, they nodded slightly, so I nodded too.

"Have you ever done anything you couldn't explain?" McGonagall asked, "Maybe when you were angry or scared or excited?"

My mind reeled as I thought about what she described. Yes, there were some moments... but they were very embarrassing! And this stranger I just met wanted to know about them?

Well... I was curious, and Mum and Daddy did give me the go-ahead to talk to this woman... so...

"Um... on my sixth birthday," I said, "The day I got my first library card... I really wanted a book from the top of a tall shelf and I was angry because I couldn't reach it and it... er..."

"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked.

"It moved by itself," I said, "It moved from the shelf like -" I moved my hands in a wiggling motion "- and it fell on the ground right in front of me."

Mum and Daddy looked at me with raised eyebrows. Then Daddy looked at Mum and they seemed to be having one of those silent conversations only parents seem to be able to do. Mum nodded and Daddy put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He usually did that when he was nervous. He looked at McGonagall, and for a moment his mouth opened and closed like a goldfish and then he sighed quite audibly.

"When Hermione was eight years old," he said, slowly, "there was this one day when... when she came home from school angry about something. She ran up to her room and slammed the door behind her."

I tried to think back to what Daddy was talking about. I do remember getting pretty angry at times in my life. Only on a handful of occasions did I ever slam my bedroom door. Before I knew it, my hand was absentmindedly twirling a strand of my hair...

"Hermione doesn't know this," Daddy said, "But when she slammed the door, all of our pictures on our walls fell to the floor."

I looked at the floor then up at McGonagall. She was looking at me still, but she seemed to be listening intently.

"I went to see what was the matter with her," Daddy said, "and her door was locked. Which was impossible, because she didn't have a lock on her door at that time. I couldn't open the door and I told Hermione to open it and..."

Daddy paused and blew out a breath, shaking his head.

"Yes, Mr. Granger?" McGonagall asked, finally looking away from me to look up at my father.

"It opened by itself," Daddy said, "But Hermione was on her bed across the room."

"Do you remember this, Hermione?" McGonagall asked, her eyes looking back at me, and for a moment I thought I had seen a flash of yellow in her otherwise green eyes.

I nodded.

"I notice you are playing with your hair," McGonagall said, and I dropped my hands quickly, blushing – I hadn't realized I was still doing that! McGonagall smiled and continued. "Did something happen that day with your hair?"

"A – a bully on my school bus stuck bubblegum in it," I said, blinking back tears; the memory of it was really embarrassing, "I had to cut my hair to get it out and -"

My eyes widened again and I gasped, remembering what happened. Daddy and Mum seemed to have remembered to because they were looking at me with the same expression I had.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked.

"I was really upset because my hair was quite a bit shorter because of it," I said, "And... the following morning, it was back to normal!"

I was sure my cheeks were quite pink or red, because they felt rather hot. I looked down at the floor again. I didn't want to see the look on the woman's face... I thought she might have thought that I was mental...

And then..., to my embarrassment I told her that too!

I hate my big buck-toothed mouth sometimes.

She only laughed lightly and shook her head. "You are not mental, Miss Granger. You see, I am a Professor at what is known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

My eyes darted from the floor to Professor McGonagall.

_Witchcraft? Wizardry?_

"Witchcraft?" Daddy asked, incredulously, then laughed, "What? Like black cats and cauldrons and voodoo dolls?"

McGonagall's lips curved into another smile. "Voodoo dolls went out of style last century after they were banned. Good thing too. Quite the nuisance I hear! But yes, black is one of the many popular colors of cats we tend to have, though I prefer calico or tabby -"

At that moment I SWEAR I saw her eyes turn yellow again! But they were back to green when I looked again.

" – and cauldrons are an everyday thing at Hogwarts," McGonagall said, then looked back at me, "Hogwarts, my dear Miss Granger, is a school for magic."

I am sure my eyebrows raised to my hairline.

"Magic?" I asked, "It is magic I can do?"

"I am sure you've experienced a lot of things like falling picture frames and doors that locked with no locking mechanisms," McGonagall said, "We refer to that as accidental magic... which is very common in young witches and wizards."

"I'm a witch?" I gasped.

"A witch?" Daddy asked, "Because of falling portraits that could be explained from the slamming of the door and a faulty door handle?"

"Hermione's hair, dear," Mum muttered, "And there were those other moments, and Hermione's teachers had written to us about -"

"Yes, but magic?" Daddy asked, "There's no such thing – bloody hell!"

Daddy was never the kind to curse, but this time it was justified. I shamefully admit that I had jumped out of the seat I was sitting in. Though what I saw was quite shocking.

A tabby cat was sitting at the same exact spot on the couch where the Professor had been. My hands went to my mouth as I tried to hold a gasp in. The cat meowed twice and looked from my parents to me and I saw those same yellow eyes I thought I had seen in McGonagall's eyes.

Then a moment later, the cat's body contorted and Professor McGonagall reappeared.

Okay, I'll admit, I do have moments where I am known to chatter a lot and go on and on but at that moment I was entirely speechless. No words were coming out of my mouth and I probably looked like a fish-face.

"On the day your daughter was born," McGonagall said, "her name appeared in what is known as the Hogwarts Book. The names of every magical child in the Great Britain area appear in this book when they are born. Including the names of those children whose parents have never shown any signs of magic at all. This is not an extremely rare occurrence. There are children all over the world in Hermione's position. They are referred to as Muggleborn."

"Muggle?" I asked, "There's no such word!"

"You do strike me as the type of young lady who gorges herself in Webster's Dictionary," McGonagall said.

I blushed.

Okay, I admit it! A dictionary is one of my favorite books!

Hmmph!

Not that I would tell someone like HER that!

"Noah Webster, creator of the Webster's Dictionary, did not know anything about magic, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, "and therefore words like Muggle and many others you will soon be introduced to will never be found in normal dictionaries. A Muggle would refer to as someone like your parents – someone who has no trace of magic. You are a Muggleborn witch, a witch born to Muggle parents."

"I-I can do m-magic?" I stammered, then blushed, as I realized I had kinda said that before.

"Accidental magic right now," McGonagall said, "But at Hogwarts, you will be taught all kinds of magic and how to control it."

My parents looked at each other with raised eyebrows, but I was pretty excited. A school where I could learn magic?

Professor McGonagall reached into a pocket in her pants and pulled out a tiny bag. She opened it and stuck her hand in and pulled out a large envelope – an envelope which was at least three times the size of the small bag.

I blinked... the bag had to be magic too!

Professor McGonagall slid the envelope across the table and looked at me. I stared at the envelope for a moment, then stood up from my chair and slowly walked over to it.

"Go on, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, "I assure you, it is not a Biting Envelope!"

I blushed and quickened my pace, then picked up the envelope. The text on the front read:

_Hermione Granger  
The Bedroom At The Top Of The Stairs  
19 St. Bernard's Road  
Oxford_

"It is addressed to my bedroom!" I exclaimed, looking from my parents to McGonagall.

"Ah yes," McGonagall said, "The owls are usually very picky. If that would have been sent to you by post instead of by me, they would have had to know where to send it!"

"Owls?" I whispered.

"Owl post is the usual method of sending letters and parcels in the wizarding world," McGonagall said, "Muggle post is much too slow most of the time."

I nodded, unsure of what to say and looked back at the envelope. I turned it over and saw a purple

wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter _H. _I broke the seal and took out what seemed to be parchment instead of the normal paper I was used to. There were a number of pieces of the parchment on top of each other. I read the first:

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

**_of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY  
**

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(_Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards _)

Dear Miss Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted

at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please

find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no

later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

"Your school list is under that letter, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, "and there are instructions on how to get to the wizarding marketplace in London where you can buy your school supplies, as well as how to get to the Hogwarts Express at King's Cross come next September. There are also other things for you and your parents to read so you can get yourself more acquainted with the wizarding world and our customs."

"Can I see more magic?" I asked.

McGonagall only smiled slightly. "I am sorry, Miss Granger, unfortunately I am limited in my use during visits like this. Magic around Muggles is usually strictly forbidden unless in the presence of a Muggleborn witch, and even then the Ministry of Magic is a bit picky with that. Great risks with the Statute of Secrecy."

"Statute of Secrecy?" Daddy asked, "Ministry of Magic?"

"All explained in the contents of that envelope, Mr. Granger," McGonagall said.

"You're not going to tell us this yourself?" Daddy asked, "What if we have questions?"

"Hmm?" McGonagall asked, "Ah, yes, I knew I forgot something... let's see..."

She rummaged through the bag again and I expected her to pull out another thing that was probably way too big to hold in that tiny bag. To my dismay, she took out what looked like a coin, attached to a necklace.

"This is for you, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, "It is a communiciation device of sorts. Two taps on this coin with a finger will alert myself that your presence is needed. This is only in emergencies if you have important questions, such as if you cannot find the wizarding marketplace, known as Diagon Alley, and cannot reach me another way before you can get there to send owl post."

I nodded and took the necklace. The coin was a simple flat piece of what seemed to be gold... beautiful, but nothing too special or... magical.

"I urge you to look over everything in that envelope, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," McGonagall said, "I am sure you have questions, and you can find a lot of answers in there. I do hope you will allow Miss Granger to attend Hogwarts, and let her learn more about who she truly is. It is quite wonderful, I assure you."

"Well – I – err," Daddy said.

"You have until July 31st to think about it," McGonagall said. "Now... one last thing. Does Hermione have any extended family outside of the two of you?"

"Yes," Mum said, "Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins -"

"I suggest you take it into thought about whether or not you tell them about Hermione being a witch," McGonagall said, "This is usually when I am supposed to say that unless you can trust them not to tell anyone outside your own family, it is probably best you do not tell them anything. The wizarding world is quite secret. Only a number of Muggles know of its existence, most of which are the parents or guardians of Muggleborn. Everything about the secrecy of the wizarding world is explained in – as I said – the information in that envelope." She stood up and looked at me. "This is where I take my leave now. Miss Granger, I do hope this is not the last time we see each other."

"Th-thank you, ma'am," I stammered.

McGonagall smiled and bowed slightly to me and my parents before walking out of the room and out of the house. Mum and Dad followed and I hurried over to one of the windows to see if I could see the professor.

"Where did she go?" I heard Dad ask.

I grinned as I saw the tabby cat jump over the fence and walk up the street.

* * *

So there you have it, Diary. I am apparently a witch. Those strange things I usually do... like when that pencil somehow rolled off my desk from under a heavy book, was accidental magic!

A witch! I can't say that enough... I am rather excited.

But...

I'm not sure how excited my Daddy is, though. Here we are, six-plus hours since Professor McGonagall left the house, and my parents have yet to look through the envelope. In fact, I haven't looked at it much either... it is sitting on my desk across the room from my bed where I am at. It has been there since my Daddy told me to put it up and read it later – that was right after McGonagall-the-cat walked up the street.

Then we spent the rest of the day away from the house. We went shopping and saw a movie and had a nice dinner and didn't get home until a little while ago. I wonder if Mum and Daddy were trying to distract me from what went on today with Professor McGonagall. We usually don't do stuff like this for my first day of summer...

I wanted to talk about what we learned but whenever I tried to bring it up, I saw the look in my parents' eyes telling me they didn't want to talk about it yet. I don't know when they will want to talk about it.

Still, like I said, I want to talk about it!

I mean, I am a witch! I can apparently do magic! I belong to a world that, as far as I know, seems to exist around us but we never see it. That is really fascinating, if I say so myself.

I really want to read the stuff in the envelope, but I am pretty tired, so I think I will do it tomorrow. And I will try to talk to my parents about it too. I'll tell you more then!

Love,  
Hermione

* * *

**So there is the first chapter! There won't be too many chapters before Hermione gets on the train to Hogwarts Express, but I do want to do a few things before she gets there. The discussion with her parents and going to Diagon Alley is two of those! **


	2. The Waiting Game

**Chapter 2  
The Waiting Game**

**Author's Note: "Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast" is inspired from "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll. Also I decided to change the "Date, Location Time" look on the diary entries... looks much better!**

* * *

**Saturday, June 20th, 1991  
****My Bedroom – My House  
****Time: 7:05 AM**

**Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast**

**1. Everything that happened yesterday afternoon was not a dream**

So when I woke up this morning, I thought for a brief moment that everything that happened yesterday afternoon was a dream. But, alas (and thankfully!) the envelope is still sitting on my desk, and the first entry in you, my lovely diary, is still there! I was not dreaming! Of course this leads to...

**2. I am a witch!**

Before yesterday, I thought witches were something that could only be found in books and movies and silly costumes children and, occasionally, adults wear during Halloween. I know what most of those witches look like and...

Did I just shudder? I actually shuddered in fright!

Of course it doesn't help that I just thought about what the Grand High Witch looked like in the book "The Witches" by Roald Dahl. In the book, witches are bald, and must wear wigs directly on their naked scalps, resulting in a condition they call "wig-rash." They have clawed fingers that they must hide with gloves. Their feet have square ends and no toes.

I am sure Professor McGonagall's hair was real, and she wasn't wearing gloves... and I am sure her feet were normal. I mean mine sure are! So yeah... pretty sure we're not those type of witches.

She didn't look like the Wicked Witch either, and I am pretty sure we're not in Kansas.

But it seems witches and wizards are real, and I am a witch!

I just squealed... out loud. First I shuddered, now I squealed.

This affects me greatly, can't you tell?

**3. Magic is real!**

My mind keeps going back to parts of my life where I think I've done accidental magic. As my father had said, there was no lock on my bedroom door until my tenth birthday – an odd birthday present, but there you have it. And yet I do remember my Daddy trying to open the door when I was eight and it would not budge. And I remember being really upset, and not wanting him to come in and see that gum in my hair, and the door stayed shut until I finally wanted Daddy to come in... and then it opened by itself!

And there was also my hair... which had grown back at least three inches over night!

And then of course there is McGonagall-the-cat, which of course is magic, because how else can you explain her turning into a cat? Which now that I think about it just so happened to be the cat I saw on the front doorstep when we arrived home yesterday.

And also Professor McGonagall's bag... which seemed to carry items inside that were quite larger than the bag was. Kind of like Mary Poppins' bag. Ooh, I want one!

**4. Daddy (and Mum?) avoiding the topic of witches and magic.**

Okay, I'm not sure how this would qualify as impossible. Other than that it seems entirely impossible for me to convince them that magic must exist and I am a Muggleborn witch and that I want – no – NEED to go to Hogwarts.

**5. Birthday Wishes really coming true**

I didn't really remember this until just now, but on my eleventh birthday (my birthday is September 19th, by the way, probably pointless to tell a diary that, who am I kidding? No offense, diary!) I made a wish, before blowing out my candles on my birthday peach cobbler (dentist-parents substitute for cake), where I said I wanted to no longer be in a school where I had no friends, lots of bullies, and kids teasing me about being a 'know-it-all'. I don't know if that will happen in Hogwarts, but in my mind the wish translated to 'I didn't want to be in a school like the one I have just "graduated" from'. Hopefully I'm off to Hogwarts, so that wish would really come true.

**6. The Hogwarts envelope seems to want me to open it again.**

Okay, I don't think it really is doing that, but I want to read that stuff so it is like it is calling to me...

But who knows... it is an envelope from a magic school!

So... I better read the stuff... I want to know these things before I try to convince my parents I really am a witch.

I'll tell you more soon!

* * *

**Same Day  
Same Location  
Time: 8:20 AM**

Oh my goodness. Wow... like... really... wow. If I was not the proper girl I am who is totally against using swear words, I would probably say something like a swear.

Calm down, Hermione. Calm... down. Count to five. Breathe.

There. Okay.

The wizarding world sounds REALLY AMAZING!

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

First off... this book-list. Eight new books for me to read for my very first year! I've never had that many school books to read in one school year at once! Ohh, I want to go to Diagon Alley (that's the wizarding marketplace in London) soon! I hope I can get more books than this. I really want to know more about the history of the wizarding world.

And get this... Diagon Alley is in a hidden location behind a pub that I've never seen before, but I am sure I've been down that very road a few times in my life. They say it is there and Muggles can't see it. Like they just walk right by it...

Hmm.

Then I wonder why I didn't see it before. I mean I am a witch, right? And will my parents be able to see it, since they are Muggles?

Also, it says we get a wand. An actual magic wand which seems to be the most important piece of equipment, more important than the books!

The classes sound brilliant too! Transfiguration, which Professor McGonagall teaches, Charms, Herbology, History of Magic, Astronomy, Potions and Defense Against The Dark Arts. I mean... wow. This is so different from primary school... and I want to know more about what the Dark Arts is... that sounds really scary... and we have to learn to defend ourselves from it? Hmm...

So the Ministry of Magic seems to be the government of the wizarding world. There is a Minister of Magic, which I guess is kind of like our Prime Minister. And if I read correctly, our Prime Minister actually knows about the existence of the wizarding world... I mean... wow! The most powerful man in Britain knows about the wizarding world. That kind of amuses me actually...

Ah... Mum just knocked on my door and told me breakfast is ready. So I guess this is bye for now. I am going to try to talk to Mum and Daddy about me being a witch...

Wish me luck!

* * *

**Same Day  
My Backyard – My House  
Time: 9:30 AM**

Well, that didn't work out so well. Mum seems okay with this whole witchcraft thing, but Daddy... well... I should start this from where I left off.

When Mum called me downstairs for breakfast, I brought the Hogwarts envelope and everything inside it with me, as I said I would.

"Good morning, dear," Mum said, as I sat down at my usual spot at the kitchen table.

"Morning, Mum," I said, brightly, "Morning, Daddy!"

Daddy was hiding behind the new edition of the local newspaper, _The Oxford Times, _like he usually did in the mornings at breakfast. Randomly, I wondered if the wizarding world had a newspaper and, if so, what it was called.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Daddy said, as he lowered the paper, "How are you, this fine –?"

He stopped in the middle of his greeting, as his eyes went from me to the Hogwarts envelope I had placed on the table off. He glanced at me, and his smiling mouth went flat. He looked at Mum and so did I. She only smiled lightly as she set a plate of bacon and eggs, and a glass of orange juice in front of me. I noticed her eyes passed over the envelope. Her lips were still curved in a smile.

"I was – err – hoping we could talk about what happened yesterday," I said, softly, my eyes on one of the pieces of bacon.

Silence reigned as Mum set a couple plates for Daddy and herself and joined us at the table. Daddy folded his newspaper up and set it off to the side.

"I read through the stuff," I said, deciding I needed to continue in order to keep the discussion going, "it really is interesting! The books, the classes and -"

I stopped when Daddy cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee. That sound usually meant he wanted me to have his full attention.

Instead it was Mum who spoke up. "Your father and I talked about this last night after you went to bed. A few important points were brought up."

"Like what?" I asked, nervously. I wasn't sure I liked where this was going.

"I find it kind of suspicious," Daddy said, "that this woman we never met came to our house, without permission, and told us all of this stuff which is pretty hard to believe. The envelope address has your bedroom on it. They knew where you sleep... that's just -"

Daddy frowned and I could see his point... they did know exactly where I slept. That was a bit creepy although, to be fair, there was a good explanation for it...

"It's very weird, sweetheart," Daddy continued, "The professor came by without invitation, knew your name – knew our names, apparently – and asked to come into our house, just like that."

"She didn't want the neighbors finding out about the wizarding world," I reasoned, "It was a private conversation. And as for the address. She explained that too, didn't she? The owls -"

"She mentioned our post, she could have sent a letter to us that way," Daddy said.

"It sounds like it is tradition for for Professors like her to meet up with Muggleborn witches like me," I said, "I'm sure there are other Muggleborn witches and wizards who are, at this moment, finding out they are magical too. Or having the same discussion we are."

Dad frowned and looked at Mum. She only smiled and looked at me.

"You really want this, don't you, Hermione?" she asked.

"I really do, Mum!" I exclaimed, "It all sounds so wonderful. And if I am a witch, then that is who I am now... I can't just ignore it."

"Why now?" Daddy asked, "If your name was in the school's book since the day you were born, why are we only hearing about this now?"

"I read that Hogwarts only allows those who are eleven years old and up to go there," I said, "Maybe eleven is usually when our magic is stronger than before and we have to control it, and learning at places like Hogwarts is the only way to do so."

"This just sounds so... outlandish," Daddy said, "Magic shouldn't exist."

"And yet it explains everything that's happened to me, Daddy," I said, "My hair grew back three inches during that night because I was upset it was cut. How else do you explain that? And Professor McGonagall turned into a cat!"

"It just sounds so dangerous," Daddy said.

"It isn't, Daddy, I'm sure of it," I said, and picked up then envelope, "Read everything in here. It all sounds so wonderful. They have an actual government and everything. Our own Prime Minister knows about wizards!"

"Okay, sweetheart," Mum said, as she took the envelope, "We will look at it..."

"But I won't give any promises it will change my mind about all of this," Daddy said.

I frowned and started on my breakfast. Mum set down the envelope, and didn't pick it back up until after we were finished eating.

"We have until July 31st to sort this all out, honey," Mum said, as Daddy washed the dishes, "Just give us time to figure this all out. You know us... find out all we can, sort through it and make the right decision."

I sighed audibly and nodded. I stood up, ready to go to my bedroom to get you.

"Hermione," Mum whispered, and I turned back around. "Between you and me, I am actually kind of excited about all of this. Give Daddy time, okay?"

I grinned and nodded and ran out of the kitchen.

* * *

So there you have it. I am out here in the backyard of my house writing to you and enjoying what is a really beautiful day. My parents are in the kitchen reading through everything in the envelope. I wish I could listen in on their discussion, but I know it would upset Daddy more if I did that.

I will keep you updated on what is going on. Wish me luck, diary!

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Wednesday, June 24th, 1991  
My Bedroom – My House  
Time: 6:30 PM**

Mum and Daddy took me with them to their dentist's office today. This isn't a new occasion to me.

Every summer when they are at work during the week, I am at home with my elderly neighbor/babysitter, Mr. Neiman. His wife died shortly after I was born, and his children are all grown up with children of their own, and he has been a friend of the family long before I was born, so he is trusted around me. He loves to read, just like I do, and, along with Mum and Daddy, he was someone who got me into the love of books over the years. Every summer, we can go through quite a few books together, especially if we read them out loud. Mr. Neiman has a really nice reading voice too. The kind you usually hear on audio tapes. His Scottish brogue accent is perfect for it, though he never thought so himself.

But there are days, like today, when I go to work with Mum and Daddy. I never go into the rooms where they work on teeth. As I already mentioned, the things they do give me nightmares. So usually I just sit in the waiting room or in one of their offices, and read books all day. Sometimes there are children of patients that I talk to and play with. It is nice but I only ever see them once or twice so I can't call them friends.

Today, however, I had a new experience, I guess you could call it. As I read "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" – by the way, I could see myself as Glinda, the Good Witch, though I don't think the kind of wand she has is the kind actual wizards and witches use – I would look around at the visitors and thoughts would go through my head. Were any of these people living as witches and wizards in secret? Did any of Mum and Daddy's patients know magic? But then I thought that was silly! Magic could probably take care of teeth...

Hmm... I wonder if Mum and Daddy would object to magic fixing these horrid buck-teeth of mine. Yes, they probably would, who am I kidding?

But anyway, it was exciting to think that any of those visitors could be Muggleborn witches and wizards, or parents of Muggleborn. Maybe I already knew a Muggleborn witch or wizard!

And then... an hour ago, as we came home, driving through Oxford, I began to wonder just how many of Oxford's citizens might just be a part of the wizarding world. Did they dress like normal Muggles, but secretly they were witches and wizards? Or perhaps, just maybe, there were a few who wore strange clothing (strange clothing to Muggles, but not to the wizarding world) but Muggles didn't really notice because of spells or something. I wondered if there were places like Diagon Alley right here in my hometown, but I couldn't see anything different now than I did back before I found out I was a witch. That is my new theory by the way... that I didn't see any thing in the wizarding world before, because I didn't know I was a witch.

It has been four days since Mum and Daddy and I had the discussion at breakfast, and they read the packet, but every time I want to bring it up, I get this look from Mum that tells me I need to wait until Daddy talks to me about it.

So that is what I am doing...

Waiting.

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Saturday, June 27th, 1991  
My Bedroom – My House  
Time: 9:30 PM**  
**  
**Is it weird the only books I read these days have something to do with witches, wizards or magic?

Yes? No?

Ugh, I really want to go to Diagon Alley and get those school books. I should be studying right now, because if everything goes right... which it will (I hope, I hope, I hope!), then I will be in a new school, around witches and wizards just like me who probably know a lot of magic. Even those my age probably know some magic... I am way too behind for my liking! That is not normal for me!

Then again... what, about this whole thing, is NORMAL?

I don't want to be NORMAL! I want to be a WITCH!

Great... now I am groaning out loud.

Nice, Hermione. Calm down... breathe.

By the way, if you couldn't tell, I'm still waiting for that discussion with Daddy.

* * *

**Wednesday, July 1****st****, 1991  
My Bedroom – My House  
Time: 7:30 AM**

**Deadline for Hogwarts letter: 31 days**

**Important things to do today:**

**1. Find a new book to read with Mr. Neiman.**  
**2. Clean bedroom.**  
**3. Sort through clothes that are too small for me.**  
**4. Convince Daddy to have conversation with me about me being a witch.**

* * *

**Same day**  
**Same Location**  
**Time: 9:30 PM**

**Checklist (things done marked with an 'x')**

**1. Find a new book to read with Mr. Neiman. (x)  
**  
Note to self: Mr. Neiman seems to have discovered my new fascination with witches, wizards and magic. Probably not a good thing, since it would break the Statute of Secrecy if he found out I was an actual witch.

**2. Clean bedroom. (x)  
**  
I never have had my bedroom that messy before! Possible pre-teen rebellion stage due to parental refusal to accept my new status in life?  
**  
3. Sort through clothes that are too small for me. (x)  
**  
I've grown a lot over the past year, I discovered today. It might be time to find a "growing up" book... I am smart enough to know that stuff is going to be happening to me over the next couple of years and I need to know how to prepare for that – without the embarrassing talk from Mum.

And I thought the wizarding world was the only thing I had to look forward to soon!

**4. Convince Daddy to have conversation with me about me being a witch. ( )**

See number 2 and add...

STILL WAITING!

I now see where I get my stubbornness from... definitely not from Mum!

* * *

**Saturday, July 4****th****, 1991  
My Bedroom – My House  
Time: 10:00 PM**

**Deadline for Hogwarts letter: 28 days**

Americans celebrate their Independence Day today with fireworks.

Over here across the pond, no independence from me, and no fireworks...

Because I am STILL WAITING!

* * *

**Friday, July 10****th****, 1991  
My Bedroom – My House  
Time: 7:00 PM**

**Deadline for Hogwarts letter: 22 days**

Guess what?! Guess what?! Guess what?!

Daddy told me today he wants to give it a chance! Nothing cemented yet, though. He still hasn't written the reply and confirmation of my attendance to Hogwarts.

But...

Tomorrow I am going to Diagon Alley! I am going to get books and maybe my wand and school supplies...

And books! I said that already, didn't I?

Oops...

I just squealed out loud...

Mum heard me.

Breathe... calm down...

YAY!

Love,  
Hermione

* * *

**Chapter 2 finished. Haha, I love that last entry. It was fun to write. This whole chapter was fun to write!**

**The date of the entry where she says she gets to go to Diagon Alley is my birthday... I might have done that on purpose.**

**More to come! Next chapter... you guessed it! Diagon Alley!**


	3. Goblins, Wands and Owls, Oh my!

**Chapter 3  
Goblins, Wands and Owls, Oh my!**

**Author's Note:** So a part of this chapter concerning owls is a bit un-canon, but I wondered just how Hermione received owl post from home without sending any, so I decided to remedy that with something that was never once mentioned in the books. You'll see soon!

* * *

**Saturday, July 11****th****, 1991  
My Bedroom – My House  
Time: 6:30 AM**

**Deadline for Hogwarts letter: 21 days**

Dear Diary,

YAWN.

Why did I get up so early? Oh yeah, because I couldn't sleep simply because I get to go to Diagon Alley in London today!

I have a feeling this is going to be a very long day, though I am really excited.

I'm already going through a list in my head of things to do. I read that wizarding currency is a pretty different from Muggle currency, so Muggleborn and/or their parents have to go to the wizarding bank called Gringotts to exchange currency. Apparently the bank is in Diagon Alley, so that is good...

Let's see, there is also...

Hmm...

So much going through my head right now... too much to write down! That should tell you how excited I am. I am usually the most calm when I do write stuff down, so this is very different to me. But what in my life right now is not different.

Seriously... different is the new normal for me.

And I am happy about that!

Love, Hermione  
**  
**P.S.: I will probably be getting a lot of books today, and reading them over the next few weeks, but I promise I will not try to ignore you, Diary. Next time you hear from me, it will be after I visit Diagon Alley! Yay!

* * *

**Same Day  
Same Location  
Time: 9:30 PM  
**  
Oh... my... gosh. This was the BEST DAY EVER! Feels like birthday, Christmas and grade report day (yes, it is a holiday for me, so what?!) all wrapped in one!

Um... maybe I should just start from the beginning, yes? Okay, here goes...

Breathe, Hermione.

As you could probably tell from my previous diary entry, I was very excited when I woke up this morning. Also, I admit, I was a little bit hyper. Hyperactivity is not normal for me (again, what is normal these days?!), due to my very low intake of sugar (again, thanks to dentist parents), so as you could probably guess, my parents noticed it straight off and commented on it many times, mostly telling me to calm down.

The drive from Oxford to London usually takes an hour and a half depending on traffic, and Daddy seemed to think high noon was an appropriate time to arrive, so we didn't leave until around ten-o-clock or so. The morning hours seemed to stretch on forever. I didn't do much for those two hours between breakfast and getting ready to go to London, though I did find some ways to pass the time. I went over my shopping list and did a quick run-down of possible books and topics I wanted to find. I could have written it in this diary, but I might have forgotten about you in my excitement. For that, I deeply apologize.

(Yes, I just apologized to a diary. So what?! I am sure there are a lot of inanimate objects in the wizarding world that could express some type of human qualities because of magic... probably not this diary, but I love you anyway.)

Where was I? Oh yes...

So after jotting down some ideas for books, I found one of my nice outfits that I usually wear for outings like this. I'm not the type of girl to brag about clothes, as I usually see myself as more of a tomboyish kind of girl, so I won't bore you with my dress style. Let's just say, it was nice for a proper eleven year old young lady going out for a shopping trip and leave it at that.

Finally we arrived in London around half-past eleven, and I had the instructions to get to Diagon Alley ready in my hand (I had, once again, been reading everything in the envelope through the usually boring trip from Oxford to London).

"Are you sure it is here, Hermione?" Daddy asked me, looking through the rear-view mirror, as we started down Charring Cross Road, "We've been down this road hundreds of times and I've never seen anything resembling – what was it called again?"

"The Leaky Cauldron," I said, then shook my head, chortling softly at Daddy's obliviousness – that told me right then that he had only gone through this packet once since it was handed to me. "Of course you have never seen it! It is magic! Muggles can't see it."

"Oh, wonderful," Daddy grumbled, "How am I supposed to know where to go then?"

"Darling," Mum said, in a soothing voice usually reserved to calm Daddy down, "the packet said that parents of Muggleborn can see magical buildings – I think they called them Unplottable buildings if I remember right - as soon as their child learns they are a witch or wizard. We should be able to see it now. How about we find a place to park and take a walk down the road? I'm sure we'll find it then."

Mum can usually calm down Daddy when he gets into a mood, so I wasn't surprised when Daddy agreed with Mum about her plan. After we found a parking lot and Daddy paid for an all-day ticket since we didn't know how long we'd be here, we got out and started off down Charring Cross Road.

I have to admit, Diary, I was very nervous about the whole thing. And when I get nervous, I start doubting things. Suffice it to say, I was starting to doubt we'd ever find the Leaky Cauldron. What if it didn't let us see it, or didn't let us in... or... what if this whole thing was some kind of trick, as Daddy had said a few times, and it didn't even exist at all?

So of course I was very frantic as I looked at every store on each side of the street as we walked down the sidewalk.

And then...

I saw it! A brass, black sign that depicted a cauldron with a witch standing inside it, and the words "The Leaky Cauldron" underneath the cauldron was hanging from a wooden pole. The building was a dark brick-style and looked extremely old, quite possibly the oldest building on the road. It was, to be honest, grubby-looking, but to me, it was beautiful. The first sign that showed me the wizarding world actually exists!

"There!" I said, excitably, but trying to keep my voice down so passersby didn't hear me, "There it is!"

"Where?" Daddy asked.

I groaned audibly in annoyance and pointed at the building a few yards down the sidewalk. Muggles walking down the street were looking from a book shop on one side of the pub, to the record store on the other. They could not see the Leaky Cauldron at all! One or two people, however, did walk through the door and into the pub, though it seemed as if nobody else, besides me and my parents noticed that they had gone in. I imagined it might look as if they vanished from the sidewalk! I'm sure it was part of the magic of the building that made people just forget those visitors were ever on the sidewalk.

"Great Scot," Daddy muttered, "I would have never believed it. I've never seen the place before in my life! But there it is! And it looks like it has been around for centuries!"

"Probably has," Mum said, smiling, "Come on, let's go then."

We followed the queue of Muggles making their way down the busy road as they filed into other stores. As we got closer, I had no doubts that we could go in unnoticed, though Daddy looked rather nervous.

"Come on," I said, still excited, and pulled Daddy and Mum into the pub.

The Leaky Cauldron was quite dark and shabby, and I could tell from my Daddy's expression that he thought it was less than welcoming. A few men and women, who had to be witches and wizards were sitting at tables discussing topics quietly with others seated with or near them. A woman at a nearby table was reading from a newspaper, and when I got a closer look, I saw that it was called _The Daily Prophet_– a very suitable name for a magical newspaper. And get this... when I got a closer look, a picture on the front page of the newspaper was MOVING! Yeah, like looking at a television screen, but it was in the newspaper. Shocked me at first, but it was pretty amusing and brilliant, if I say so myself.

"Another new Defense Professor at Hogwarts this year," the witch muttered softly, "Can't keep a Professor at that job for more than a year, can they?"

"So, Hermione," Daddy said, "did that packet of yours tell you how to get into Diagon Alley?"

I was about to answer that we had to go through the back of the pub, when a voice near us spoke up.

"First time going to Diagon Alley, eh?" the pleasant voice said, though it made Daddy and Mum jump.

I turned and saw an average-sized, big-bellied man looking at us with a nice smile.

"Er... yeah," Daddy said, "It is. You see, my daughter is – er -"

"I'm a Muggleborn witch," I said.

"Let me guess," the man said, "Turned eleven in the past year and you had a strange visitor came to your house and proclaim you to be a witch, yes?"

"Yes!" I said, chuckling and nodding.

"Then I guess you're going to Hogwarts this year?" the man said.

"We haven't decided yet," Daddy said, "My name is Richard Granger, this is my wife, Helen and our daughter Hermione."

"Undecided," the man said, nodding and smiling, "Yes, my parents were like that too when I was Hermione's age. I am Ted Tonks, also a Muggleborn. If you wish, I can help you with your first visit. The entrance is quite tricky to get into, and almost impossible to do it yourself, if you don't have a wand."

At that moment, I saw a slim, long piece of wood sticking out of the man's pocket in his robes. I almost gasped... was that an actual wand?

"We'd hate to be a bother, sir," Mum said.

"No bother at all!" Ted said, chuckling, "I am going in myself. I am getting a present for my daughter. She just finished up her final term at Hogwarts last month, and we just found out she is going into the Auror Training Academy. Oh – Aurors are basically the magical equivalent to a bobby, though Aurors have a much more dangerous job."

"And you're letting your daughter train to become one?" Mum asked.

"Let her?" Ted asked, then laughed out loud, "I couldn't tell my young Nymphadora not to do anything she wants to do. She even has a fit if anyone besides me or her mother calls her by her full first name!"

"Well, I think we can accept your offer to guide us into Diagon Alley," Mum said, "Lord knows we need all the help we can get!"

"No matter, ma'am," Ted said, "I was once just like your young witch here, visiting the pub and marketplace my first time and me and my mum and pop were just as confused as you were. Besides, I don't have much to do today, my wife and daughter are looking around for – for a nice flat for Nymphadora." He sighed and chuckled. "Kids growing up and moving out too fast these days. Well, come on then."

"Maybe afterwards we can sit down and have a nice meal, on us," Daddy said, as I followed him, Mum and Ted through the pub, "Least we can do."

"Richard's still on the rocks when it comes to letting Hermione go to Hogwarts," Mum said, "So maybe you could tell us more about the wizarding world from an – err – Muggleborn perspective?"

"I'd be happy to!" Ted said, "I'm sure young Hermione here really wants to go to Hogwarts, yes?"

I nodded rapidly in excitement.

"Of course you do," Ted said, smiling, then looked at Daddy, "I'm happy to help you make up your mind on the whole thing, Richard."

"Well – ah – thank you," Daddy said.

"No problem at all," Ted said, "Ah, here we are!"

I raised my eyebrows in confusion as I looked around. We were standing in a small cobbled alleyway that seemed to be closed off. There were a couple of dumpsters nearby gathering flies, and a large brick wall in front of us. But that was about it.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Daddy asked, doubtfully.

"Yes, yes," Ted said, taking the long slender wooden stick out of his pocket, "One moment. Let's see now. Pay attention now, because this is how you'll get into Diagon Alley from here on in."

I watched intently as he tapped five bricks in the center of the brick wall in a counter-clockwise motion.

" – four and five!" he counted, "And..."

Mum, Daddy and I gasped simultaneously as the bricks began to slide away from each other and fold into themselves.

"A bit jarring at first," Ted said, chuckling, "Well, there you have it. Welcome, Hermione... to Diagon Alley!"

If my jaw could have dropped onto the cobbled pavement below me, it would have. What was just a closed alley had opened into a long alley, numerous buildings on either side of a long cobbled pathway that twisted and turned out of sight.

"Great Scot," Daddy breathed, "We're still in London?"

"Hard to believe this is here, right?" Ted said, "That is magic for you. The Unplottable Charm is a god-send for wizards and witches, and also those few Muggles like yourselves who can see through them. Otherwise we couldn't have something like this in the middle of London. All right, your first stop better be Gringott's Wizarding Bank – you'll be able to exchange Muggle currency for wizarding gold. Come on then."

I was sure my eyes were the size of saucers as we headed down the cobbled walkway. Every which way I looked there was something new and exciting to see. A cauldron store, Apothecary, a pet store with owls of all different kinds and (I shuddered a bit when I saw them), bats in cages!

And then I saw it... my new favorite shop in the world – Flourish and Blott's, the bookstore. I could already see numerous books as I passed.

Mum chuckled when my hand started shaking.

"I see it, Hermione." she said, her eyes on the bookstore, "We'll go there soon."

I grinned and I was looking over my shoulder at the shop as it trailed behind us.

"Here we are," Ted said, "Gringott's Wizarding Bank!"

I turned so fast, I felt a crick in my neck. Gringott's was definitely the largest place in Diagon Alley. The snowy white building towered over the shops. The double doors were large and bronze, but that wasn't what caught my eye.

"What are those?" Mum said, quietly, for she had noticed the creatures too.

"Goblins," Ted said, "The guardians and tellers of Gringott's."

They were a head shorter than myself. Clever, though frightening faces, with long white and grey beards. They had very long fingers and feet. One of the goblins caught me staring and I tried to find something else to look at. As we walked by the two goblins, there were a second pair of doors, silver this time, and there were words on them, which read:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,  
__  
Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Mum must have read it to for she commented: "Clever warning."

"Aye," Ted said, "You'd be mad to rob this bank. Safest place there is, though some say Hogwarts is safer."

Two more goblins bowed, as they opened the doors and welcomed us through them.

The atrium of Gringotts was a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. Numerous doors were seen on the walls, including an extremely large silver-steel door that I figured must have led to the vaults.

"There you go," Ted said, pointing to the closest end of the long counter, where a sign read 'Muggle-to-Wizarding Currency Exchange', "That is where we're headed first."

"Helen, why don't you and Hermione stay back here?" Daddy suggested, as he eyed the goblins cautiously. "I expect this will only take a few minutes."

Mum and I nodded and we stood away from the queue of witches and wizards as Daddy and Ted headed for the exchange counter.

"What do you think so far, Hermione?" Mum asked, conversationally, probably trying to distract herself from staring at the many goblins.

"This place is amazing!" I said, grinning, "All those shops!"

"That it is," Mum said.

"Do you think Daddy will let me go to Hogwarts now?" I asked, "I mean – this is clearly proof that Professor McGonagall was being honest."

"I think we can do your school shopping today, yes," Mum said, smiling.

I had to concentrate to keep from jumping and squealing right there. As I said earlier, Mum had a bit of control over Daddy sometimes, so if she said I could go to Hogwarts, then Daddy was sure to agree.

"However," Mum said, "We'll stick to your school list today, okay? We have no idea how much this will cost us, and I know you might want to read everything in that bookstore, but the school books are already going to overwhelm you I'm sure."

"Overwhelm me?" I asked, laughing, "Are you sure?"

Mum only smiled. "Okay, you win. Maybe you can get one or two other books as long as they are reference or something that will help you with your studies or learn more about the wizarding world."

I grinned. I really wanted to know more about what was up with the Dark Arts and if it was really as evil and dangerous as it sounded and why we had to defend ourselves from it. I wanted to be ready for everything.

Mum and I waited for a good fifteen minutes before Daddy returned with a large leather sack.

"No paper currency at all," Daddy said, shaking his head, "All coins. Three types... large coins too!"

"Overwhelmed me, too, at first," Ted said as he returned with his own bag of money. "No room for stuff like this in your basic everyday billfold, so these bags are thief-proof – we can carry them around and no one else can take the coins from us unless we say so."

He then pulled out three different coins and told us about them.

"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine bronze Knuts to a Sickle. Simple, huh?"

"If you say so," Daddy said.

I giggled... it seemed easy enough to me.

"Where to next, Ted?" Mum said, as we headed out of the bank.

"The book shop?" I asked, eagerly.

"I think we better save that till later, Hermione," Mum chuckled, "We could be in there all day, knowing you.

I blushed and scowled lightly, as I glared at Mum. She only chuckled.

"The studious type, are you?" Ted asked me, "We'll get there sooner or later. Don't worry, miss. But I think you'd want your wand first, correct?"

My eyes were probably the size of saucers for the hundredth time today, and I nodded eagerly. I really wanted my own wand.

"Ollivander's it is, then," Ted said, "There ain't no place better."

He led us to a narrow shop just a few yards up the cobbled walkway. Peeling gold letters over the door read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 b.c. The atmosphere reminded me of the pub we first went through. It was rather dark inside, owing to the dusty windows, and it gave off a very spooky aura. As I looked around, I saw thousands of narrow boxes stacked to the ceiling.

"Good afternoon," a soft voice said, that made jump.

An old man appeared from behind a tower of the narrow boxes.

"Ah, Mr. Ollivander, how very nice to see you today," Ted said.

"Ted Tonks," Mr. Ollivander said, "How is young Nymphadora? The grapevine says she is going into Auror training, yes."

"Indeed," Ted said.

Mr. Ollivander looked from Ted to me and I shivered. He had a rather creepy look to him that I probably won't forget for a while, but he seemed to be a nice old man.

"Ah yes," Ted said, "These are the Grangers. Young Hermione here is here for her first wand. She's a-"

"Muggleborn witch, yes?" Mr. Ollivander asked, his eyes still on me.

I gulped and nodded. "H-how did you know?"

"I remember every wand and every person I've ever sold a wand to, Miss Granger," Mr. Ollivander said, "As I do not remember your parents, I assumed this."

"Oh, well... okay," I said.

Mr. Ollivander smiled and took a wand from his pocket. He waved his wand and a measuring tape appeared from his pocket and floated beside me. The measuring tape seemed confused on whether to measure which side of my body.

"I will give a rare wager and say, Miss Granger," Mr. Ollivander said, "that you are neither left nor right handed, but _both, _or _ambidextrous. _Am I correct?"

I blushed. Hardly anyone knew that about me! It was one of my gifts about myself that I loved, along with my love for books and knack for being studious.

"Y-yes, sir!" I squeaked timidly.

"A challenge!" Mr. Ollivander said.

Before I could say anything, he turned away from me and looked around at the stacks of boxes. He muttered to himself, and disappeared into the aisles. The measuring tape, still floating, lined up against my right arm and hand, then a moment later, against my left. I giggled when it brushed my skin and tickled me. The tip of the measuring tape bent over and seemed to bow in a way before it floated away through the aisles to find Mr. Ollivander. The wandmaker returned a minute later holding four boxes.

"Lets start with these," he said, and handed me a wand from a box, "9 inches, mahogany and unicorn hair."

I took it and looked at it, but it didn't feel right. Apparently Ollivander noticed this too, because he took it back before I could try a spell, and proclaimed it wasn't the right type. The second and third he gave me, he let me try a spell, telling me to "give it a wave". The second wand did nothing and the third sent a stack of wands tumbling before both Ted and Mr. Ollivander saved them and returned the stack to normal.

"No matter, no matter," Mr. Ollivander said, after that catastrophic moment, "Shall we try this one. 10 ¾ inches, vine wood with a dragon heartstring core."

He handed me the wand and I took it. I instantly knew that it felt right in my hand... it felt like it was a part of me.

"This could be the one, Miss Granger," Mr. Ollivander said, "Let's try a spell, shall we? Repeat after me... _Flora!"_

"Flora!"

I said, and pointed my wand in the air.

Suddenly, a shower of lilies erupted from the end and sprinkled around the room. I gasped and grinned, and looked at my parents. Mum grinned and Dad looked gobsmacked. Ted applauded lightly.

"Wonderful!" Mr. Ollivander said, "This is the wand for you, Miss Granger! I am always right about these things. Am I correct to say it feels right in your hand?"

I nodded and smiled.

"Every wand I make is made for a witch or wizard in this world," Mr. Ollivander said, "usually in the Great Britain area. That is how I can usually guarantee the perfect one would find you."

"It would find her?" Daddy asked.

"The wand chooses the wizard, or in this case the witch, Mr. Granger," Mr. Ollivander said, as if he had recited this many times before, "Those of us who study wandlore are sure of that. That will be seven Galleons, Miss Granger."

A couple minutes later, we strolled out of the shop, my newly acquired wand resting in the pocket of my jeans. Ted suggested that before we buy anything else, that I get myself a trunk to put everything in. You'll need to have one to store your school supplies in for Hogwarts, yes?"

I looked at Daddy, and he sighed and nodded.

"Yes, she will," he said, and I squealed and hugged him tightly. I knew this meant I was going to Hogwarts in September. "I guess this means we need to send your Hogwarts letter with confirmation of attendance out today."

"We can do that now if you wish!" Ted said, pointing up the road to a shop called "Eeylop's Owl Emporium".

"No better time than the present," Daddy said.

Ted led us over to the owl post shop.

"I'll give you a piece of advice, Mr. Granger," he said, as we walked inside the shop, "You're probably going to want an owl of your own at home to send letters to Hermione with when she heads to Hogwarts. They have owls there, but I'm sure there are times when you'll want to send post to her without receiving something first."

"Hmm," Daddy said, then walked over to the clerk, and I followed him, "Excuse me. These owls are properly trained right? We're Muggles and our daughter is Muggleborn, so -"

"We have a few owls especially trained for Muggle areas if you wish to purchase one," the clerk said.

Daddy looked at me and I smiled and nodded, in a bit of a pleading manner.

"Well, all right, but we'll keep it at home for our use since it sounds like you will have owls handy at Hogwarts," Daddy said. I grinned and clapped lightly., and Daddy turned back to the clerk. "What do you suggest?"

The clerk suggested one of three and I got to choose which one. I chose the Tawny/Brown female who looked as if she was the nicest. I wasn't sure what to name her, but Ted suggested that I look through some of my school books when I buy them, and said I could probably find a name in there. Daddy bought the owl and a cage, and some owl treats. We also filled out my confirmation of attendance to Hogwarts. The postage cost for sending the confirmation was free of charge, which made Daddy happy.

It is official! I am now a Hogwarts Student! YAY!

Oh... wow, I just checked the time... I better go to bed. I will tell you more about the visit to Diagon Alley tomorrow!

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Chapter 3 finished. Decided I would split the Diagon Alley visit into two chapters because this was so long. What did you think? Did you like my addition of Ted Tonks? How about the owl? Also, I need suggestions for names for the owl... I am thinking Rowena, but if you have some, I'd like to hear them!**

**More to come soon... the rest of Diagon Alley visit (including Flourish and Blott's... knowing Hermione, this will be exciting!), and a conversation over lunch with Ted Tonks.**

**Also, I need a canon-check. Hermione said she was able to do "a few simple spells herself"... so do you think she was able to do these at home without getting Ministry warnings because she has not gone to Hogwarts yet and it could be seen as accidental magic? What do you think?**


	4. Robes and Rumors

**Chapter 4  
Robes and Rumors**

**Sunday July 12****th****, 1991  
My Bedroom – My House  
Time: 8:15 AM**

Dear Diary,

Mmm, had a good night's sleep after waking up earlier than usual yesterday. Right now, my new books are sitting on my desk across the room and while I know they are screaming "Read me!" (not that I bought any books that actually do that, but apparently there may be books that really do scream words like that!), I must keep my promise and tell you about the rest of my amazing trip to Diagon Alley.

After we left Eeylops, Ted Tonks took Daddy, Mum and I to a small shop that sold different assorted things including an assortment of trunks. He suggested one of the Featherlight Trunks: it was a normal looking trunk, perhaps a little larger than what I was used to, but that was needed for how much I would be putting inside it over the years. However, that wasn't the best part of the trunk: no matter how much stuff you put inside, the trunk had charms placed on it where it would be light as a feather when I had to carry it.

Over the next couple of hours, Ted led us around the shops and helped me and my parents buy the needed equipment and materials on the school list. The trunk was worth its weight in gold (the price a bit more hefty then the trunk weighed), because the first thing we bought was a weighty-looking pewter cauldron and while it weighed a bit on its own, it didn't add any weight to the trunk when we put it inside, then proceeded to fill it with required potion ingredients (many of which, especially the spiders' eyes and legs made Mum moan in disgust) and other necessary equipment.

Every shop we went into only made me hope that Flourish and Blott's was next, but I had a feeling it would be the last one we visited.

"What is Quidditch?" Dad asked.

Ted grinned and explained the sport of Quidditch to my parents. It sounded complicated for me, and definitely not my kind of sport, especially since it seemed to be played fifty or one-hundred feet up in the air! But as we passed by the shop called "Quality Quidditch Supplies", I still admired the brilliant-looking broom in the window display. A gold-plated label near the broom read: "Nimbus 2000". My eye did catch a poster of one of the Quidditch teams, the Holyhead Harpies, which seemed to be an all-witches team. I thought that was pretty cool, and since Quidditch did seem like the popular sport, at least I had a team to call my favorite if anybody asked which team I liked.

Next, Ted led us into a clothing store called "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions". A squat smiling witch walked up to us and smiled as she looked at Ted.

"Ted Tonks, you old rascal!" the woman said, "What can I do for you? New suit?"

"Nah, I'm in here doing some Good Samaritan work for the Grangers here," Ted said, then looked at me, "Madam Malkin, this is one of Hogwarts' newest Muggleborn students, Hermione Granger. Hermione, Madam Malkin."

"Nice to meet you," I said, politely.

"Come to get fitted for robes, yes?" Madam Malkin said, smiling, "Come on then, up, up!"

She motioned to a footstool a few feet behind her. Mum nudged me forward and I walked over to the footstool and stepped up onto it. Madam Malkin took out a couple strings of measuring tape, not unlike the one Mr. Ollivander had, and they proceeded to move around me on their own, measuring every inch of me that was below my chin.

"New student at Hogwarts means you are eleven?" Madam Malkin asked.

"Yes, but I'll be twelve in September," I said.

"Well then," Madam Malkin said, lowering her voice for my benefit, "you're at that age where you'll be growing some before next summer. So you might need the adjusted size in your robes if they are going to keep properly fit on you. Especially on your upper body."

I blushed when I realized what she meant. Mum and Dad were talking to Ted, but Mum seemed to hear Madam Malkin and I saw her smile, and knew she had heard this too.

"Now don't be embarrassed," Madam Malkin said, chuckling, "Happens to every young girl."

Luckily, she walked away for a moment, so I didn't have to respond. She returned with a clothes rack and three robes of different sizes.

"Take these to the privacy booths in the back and see which fits best for you," Madam Malkin instructed, "Don't worry about adjustments, these are specially charmed to suit the growing witch."

I nodded and the clothes rack moved by itself as it led me to the privacy booths. A few minutes later, I came back and chose the second option of the three. Madam Malkin was happy with the choice, and she found three more identical versions, the required number of robes for the year.

"The ties for your outfit are black right now," Madam Malkin said, as she led me to the counter, where Daddy and Mum joined us, "But as soon as you are sorted into your new house come September, they will change to your house colors."

Er... Houses? Sorting? My confusion must have been written all over my face because Madam Malkin chuckled.

"You'll found out soon, Miss Granger," she said, "It is tradition for first years to be oblivious about the Sorting until it actually happens. Keeps you on your toes and makes sure you are chosen for the right house."

"Oh... okay," I said.

After Daddy bought my robes, we headed back onto the street. As we headed off to the next store, I realized exactly where we were going.

Yep, you guessed it, Flourish and Blott's!

"Ted, I imagine we're going to be in here for a while," Mum said, when she caught the eager look in my eyes, "So if you need to do your shopping for your daughter, you can do so. We could meet back at the pub in say two hours and get a bite to eat and some conversation?"

"Sounds wonderful, Helen," Ted said.

He shook Daddy and Mum's hand and smiled at me. I blushed – he really was a nice gentleman – and waved goodbye. He headed off back down the street.

"Ready to go inside," Mum said, in a teasing tone.

I nodded eagerly and hurried toward the shop.

You might not be surprised to know this, but I'll say this anyway:

I was in HEAVEN!

There had to be thousands of books in Flourish and Blott's, and since they were likely all wizarding books they were all brand new to me! A section near the front was labeled "Hogwarts" and had sections for every year, one through seven.

"Okay, Hermione," Mum said, "I am sure you want to look around, and your father and I also need to look around and see if we can find some books to get us more acquainted with everything. So how about we meet back here at the school books in an hour and a half."

"You can buy a limit of five books other than your school books," Daddy said.

I agreed: five was a good compromise, considering they weren't going to let me have any besides my school books not two hours before. I hurried away into the depths of the store. The first promising section I found was a whole section on Muggleborn witches. I found a promising book for new, young Muggleborn witches, which had advice on what spells to learn that were handy and worked around Muggle appliances and machines. Apparently magic and electricity didn't mix very well. I decided this book would be one of the five I would buy. It would be interesting to test my limits. I stayed in that section for a good twenty minutes before I moved on.

There were sections for house-hold spells, healing spells, spells useful to go with potions, spells for protection wards. There were history books that talked about goblins wars, creature books of all the various magical species, including unicorns, dragons, sphinxes and a whole slew of other creatures I had never heard of. But I knew one of my school books had information on all the animals so I didn't get anything from there.

Then I found the Dark Arts section, but to my dismay it was roped off behind a desk. The whole section looked quite dark and macabre-like.

"Need help, my dear?" the witch at the desk said.

"I was interested in books on the Dark Arts?" I said.

The witch's eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed as she looked at me. She seemed to be studying me.

"Be more specific, please," she said, and I could tell there was a slight offensive manner in her voice.

I then realized just how dangerous the Dark Arts might be and how strange it was that an eleven year old witch was interested in them,

"Um," I said, biting my lip; trying to figure out how to word my request, "One of my classes is Defense Against The Dark Arts and I wanted to know why I had to defend myself against them. Are they bad? Dangerous?"

"Muggleborn, I assume," the witch said, with a bit of a scoff; she motioned behind me, then said, "You'll want the Defense section, young lady. This section behind me is for wizards and witches far older than the likes of you. Bit of advice... don't get your nose in any of these books, even if you are given permission at any point to go into the Dark Arts section. They are not for a _little girl _like you."

I frowned at the phrase "little girl" and the way she said it. I looked over my section and, sure enough, saw the  
Defense Against the Dark Arts section.

"Um... thank you," I said.

The witch only nodded and motioned me to leave.

I turned and walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts section. Unlike the Dark Arts section, the atmosphere seemed better. Much lighter while the Dark Arts section was well... _dark. _Light versus dark... good versus evil. The thought made me shudder.

Makes me shudder right this moment just thinking about it.

As I looked through the section, knowing I wanted at least one book from here, I heard a voice squeal lightly.

"Padma, it is here!" a girl that seemed to be of Indian descent, and probably around my age, said at the other end of the section.

A moment later, the young girl's twin arrived in the section. The squealing girl picked up a book and I walked closer to see what book it was. The book was called _The Greatest Events of the Twentieth Century. _I wondered just how recent the book showed events, and thought this might be a book I'd want.

"Is he in it?!" the other girl, Padma, asked.

"Yeah, listen to this," Padma's sister said, reading the back cover of the book, "'The Greatest Events of the Twentieth Century details some of the famous landmarks of the 1900s ranging from... blah blah... Dumbledore versus Grindelwald...blah... and the Great War and its apparent end when V -"

"Parvati, you know we have to say You-Know-Who," Padma said.

"Yeah, him," Parvati said, then continued reading, "met his fall thanks to the _Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter!"_

The twin sisters squealed in unison and I accidentally giggled out loud. The two girls looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"What's so funny?" Padma asked.

"Er.. nothing," I said, blushing, "It's just... I never knew anyone besides me who squealed at some fact in a history book."

Padma and Parvati looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Some fact?" Padma asked.

I nodded.

"Don't tell me you never heard of Harry Potter?" Padma asked.

"Um... should I have?" I replied, shrugging.

"Should you -" Padma echoed incredulously, "Of course you should have -"

Parvati patted her sister's shoulder lightly.

"I think I know what is going on," she said, then looked at me, "You're a Muggleborn, right?"

"Is is that obvious?" I asked, "I've been getting that all day."

"Well, purebloods and most half-bloods know who Harry Potter is," Padma said.

Purebloods and half-bloods? I shrugged, deciding that little fact could wait till later, and decided to ask the most obvious question.

"So... who is he?" I asked.

I really felt dumb. These two girls were obviously my age and knew a whole lot more about the wizarding world than I could possibly dream of learning before I had to go to Hogwarts.

"Ten years ago, this Halloween," Parvati said, "The darkest wizard in the last half-century was defeated by Harry Potter."

"So is Harry Potter like... an Auror or something?" I asked.

Parvati and Padma looked at each other and giggled.

"No!" Padma said, "Harry was a baby when – erm – You-Know-Who was defeated."

"You-Know-Who?" I asked, shaking my head.

Padma frowned. "That is what you're supposed to call the guy. Nobody refers to him with his actual name. If you really want to know, it is in this book."

"Oh," I said, "Wait... Harry was a baby?"

"A little over a year old, yeah," Parvati said, "And he is the only known wizard to survive the Killing Curse."

I raised my eyebrows.

"They say You-Know-Who was defeated with the curse backfired," Parvati said, "and Harry survived."

"His parents were killed that night," Padma said, "Sad story... but nobody really knows what happened. And nobody knows where Harry is now."

"Some say he is living with Muggles," Parvati said, "Probably relatives. His mother was Muggleborn, like you."

"Some say he possibly lives in America," Padma said.

"I don't believe that," Parvati said, "What about the rumors?"

"Rumors?" I asked.

"Harry Potter turns eleven at the end of this month," Parvati said, "Meaning he is eligible to go to Hogwarts."

"I'm going to Hogwarts this year!" I said, grinning.

"So are we!" Padma said, "We'll be classmates!"

"So... Harry Potter may be our classmate?" I asked, "Do you know what he looks like?"

"There are no current pictures," Parvati said. "The advertisements for this book said there would be pictures of his father as a young boy, and people think Harry will probably look just like his father."

"Except for the scar!" Padma said.

"Scar?" I asked.

"There are apparently rumors – and these seem to be more true than others," Padma said, "That Harry has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead where the curse hit him. These rumors are from witches and wizards who have claimed to have seen him over the years."

"So... if they've seen him... he might live around here?" I asked.

"Yeah," Parvati said, "That is why I think he will be at Hogwarts this year."

I nodded and took a copy of the book from the shelf.

"Are there – erm – any more books on Harry Potter?" I asked.

"Ooh, got a bit of a fancy for him?" Padma asked, giggling.

"No!" I said, blushing;

Geez... how could I fancy him? I don't even know the boy.

"It is okay if you do, you know," Parvati said, "Girls our age, and younger and older fancy him and don't even know him."

"As we should," Padma said, "He's a hero... an actual bedtime-storybook hero our age who might be our classmate. Not every day you know someone like that, huh?"

"Let's see," Parvati said, looking at the books on the shelf, "aha... here... and here. Two more books that I know have information on him in there."

She handed me two more books: One called "Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts" and one called "Modern Magical History".

"Ooh, thanks!" I said, "I was looking for something on the Dark Arts anyway."

"Dark Arts?" Parvati asked, a frown creasing her lips.

"Oh yeah, um... defending myself against them," I said, "research for class."

"Good idea," Padma said, "Anyone who associates themselves with the Dark Arts is bad news."

"Yeah," I said, "I'm starting to see that."

"Oh, how rude of us, we haven't introduced ourselves," Padma said, "I'm Padma Patil and my sister is Parvati."

"Hermione Granger," I said, "As you guessed, Muggleborn."

"Nice to meet you, Hermione," Padma said.

"You too," I said, smiling.

"Well, we better get going," Parvati said to her sister, then looked back at me, "Maybe we can find each other on the Hogwarts Express in September?"

I nodded. "Sounds brilliant."

"Great!" Parvati said.

Parvati and Padma walked away, both immersed in the new book.

I smiled as I looked at the book. It seemed like I might already have new friends when I go to Hogwarts. Even if I only had those two friends, it would be two more than I had before.

Over the next hour, I looked through the rest of the sections of books. While they were interesting, I didn't find anything that I really wanted to take home this time. Then, when it was once again time to meet my parents, I walked back up to the Hogwarts section near the front. Mum and Daddy weren't there yet, so I took my shopping list from my pocket and found the books. As I picked up the last book needed, I saw another book nearby called _Hogwarts, a History. _I smiled... I definitely needed to know more about the castle I would be spending most of the next seven years at! I took the book and put it in my basket.

"Ah, there you are!" Daddy said, "Found your books?"

I smiled and looked up. Mum and Daddy were walking over to me, along with Ted Tonks.

"I got my limit of five, as well as my school books," I said, nodding.

"That's a lot of books," Ted said.

"She'll probably have those read before she gets to Hogwarts, knowing our Hermione," Mum said.

I blushed and Dad and Mum laughed. We bought my books, plus another one called "So your child is a Muggleborn wizard or witch?" that Mum and Daddy picked up.

After we left the store, we headed back to the Leaky Cauldron and Ted found us a table. As soon as we sat down, an elderly balding man walked over.

"Good afternoon, Tom," Ted said.

"Same to you, Ted ol' boy, who are these fine people?" Tom asked.

Ted introduced us and finished with "Hermione here recently found out she's a witch!"

"Welcome to the wizarding world and the Leaky Cauldron, miss," Tom said, bowing slightly, "Glad to have you and your parents. So what will it be?"

"Four specials," Ted said, then looked at me, Mum and Daddy, "Can't go wrong with Tom's specials."

"Sounds good," Mum said.

"As long as it won't bite us back," Daddy said.

Mum rolled her eyes while I giggled.

"I'll have it ready in a few," Tom said, and bowed slightly again, then walked away.

"You're never going to get over the biting book, are you, Richard?" Mum asked.

"Biting book?" I asked.

"Your parents seemed to accidentally find themselves in one of the more popular sections of Flourish and Blott's," Ted said, "The Charmed book section. Luckily I was there to rescue them."

"I was in the Charms section too!" I said, "I didn't see a biting book."

"Charmed section, big difference," Ted said, "These are books that have a bit more of a kick to them than regular books. For example, the biting book, as well as a book that screams at you when you open it. Another book swears at you with all kinds of curse words when the reader gets to that word in the book."

"How awful!" Mum asked, while I giggled.

"So what books did you find, Hermione?" Ted asked.

"Well, first I found this book on spells a new witch like me can do," I said, then frowned, "But... I guess I can't do them at home, can I?"

"Depends on how dangerous they are," Daddy said.

"None looked dangerous," I said, "Pretty useful."

"Can she practice them?" Mum asked Ted.

"Ah, that is where we get into the technical part," Ted said, "The loophole. When I was your age, and I discovered I was a wizard, and there were weeks before I went to Hogwarts, I realized that I might be the most dimwitted person there if I didn't catch up on my spells. So I tried one out one day, and I expected to get in trouble – not from my parents, but from the Ministry for underage wizardry. But because I was not technically a student yet. Anything I did was labeled accidental magic, and therefore ignored by the Ministry. So... as long as you practice simple spells, and they aren't dangerous... don't do them everyday, though... but you might be able to get away with trying to practice a couple just to see what you can do. More than likely, you'll be lucky to get one or two spells correct before you go to school."

"I won't do too many," I said, "I just feel like I need to know this stuff so I can be on the average level when I get to Hogwarts. I mean... most of these students grew up knowing they could do magic, and probably did some they knew how, or saw someone doing some... right?"

"Exactly," Ted said, "We're of the same mind-set, you and I? What other books did you find?"

I told Ted and my parents about meeting the Patil twins and when I mentioned Harry Potter, Ted's eyes brightened.

"You know him?" I asked, then looked at Mum and Daddy, "Apparently he is my age and he is really famous."

"He's famous all right," Ted said.

He told the same story Parvati and Padma told me, though with a bit more of a skilled voice. I thought back to how the Patils said Harry's story was a bedtime kind of tale and wondered if Ted told his daughter the story many times.

"So do you know Harry?" I asked.

"I never met him," Ted said, "But... I did know his parents. My wife's cousin was pretty close with them until..."

He sighed and shook his head.

"Well, that's a long story and definitely not one for you to here, Hermione," Ted said, "As I said, I never met him when he was a baby, but I know the story. His parents were good people. The best you'd ever meet. A deep shame it was... very sad. Anyone who knew them cried for weeks. Andie was miserable for months on end."

"The two girls I met say Harry might be a classmate of mine come September," I said.

"He might... he very well might," Ted said, nodding, "Will be interesting to know what happens with him. Every child – well – every child who knew they were magical – know his name... can't begin to wonder what the other students will think of him if he's there."

I frowned and thought of those books I had bought. I really wanted to know more about Harry. I wondered right then and there if I would meet him and if I could become his friend... it felt kind of silly, because I don't even know the boy. I began to really understand what the Patil sisters were thinking... don't even know Harry, and already want to be his friend.

Ted, my parents and I talked and dined for the next hour or so, before Daddy said we had to get home. Daddy gave Ted our home phone number and his office number and said if he ever was in the Oxford area to come find us. Ted agreed and shook Daddy's and Mum's hands. I thanked him for helping us and he wished me luck with my reading, magic and school year.

* * *

So there you have it... my first trip to Diagon Alley. It was really exciting, and I met some nice people, and learned about others. Today I plan to read one or two of my books and maybe... just maybe try out a spell.

Less than two months till my first term at Hogwarts starts and I cannot wait! Hopefully the time will pass fast enough while I read my books!

As for you, dear diary, I hope you don't think I'll ignore you. I'm sure I can find some time between my reading and studying to give you a few details about my days and what I've found out.

Until then,

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Next chapter will be the rest of the summer before September 1****st****rolls around. I'll have a few details of the books and Hermione's opinions... possible spells, and other stuff.**

**So what did you think about this chapter? Did you like the Patil twins cameo? How about the stuff about Harry? The Dark Arts information?**

**Hope to hear from you! More to come!**


	5. August Rush

**Chapter 5  
August Rush  
**

**Author's Note: **I mislabeled the book "Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century" in the last chapter. It will be correct from here-on in.

* * *

**Saturday July 18****th****, 1991  
My Bedroom – My House  
Time: 8:15 AM**

Dear Diary,

I know it is silly to apologize to a diary, but I am sorry for not writing in you lately! It has been nearly a week since my visit to Diagon Alley and I have totally immersed myself in my new books. I admit it, it is a definite weakness of mine. The moment I start on a new book – especially if they are books I've never read before – I lose myself in them.

Let's see, where should I begin. I guess I should start with something that does not have to do with my new books or me experiencing new things about being a witch.

Mum and Daddy started their holiday from work yesterday that will last a couple of weeks. Last night they told me they planned a week-long trip for the three of us to Paris, France, starting tomorrow evening with a plane ride from Heathrow Airport in London.

Normally, I would be really excited about going to Paris. I've been there twice before, and I've always said I wanted to go back. I totally understand why they planned this trip. It is a holiday for the three of us, a get-together before I throw myself head-first into an exciting new world. I guess they have it in their heads that because I am a witch, I'm not their normal daughter anymore. I don't know what to say to that, because I'm not sure if I agree or disagree with them.

I'm still their daughter, but now I am going to be at Hogwarts from September until June, except for the Christmas holidays. I've never in my life been away from my parents for more than the two weeks I was at my Grandmum and Grandpa's house when my parents took their second honeymoon for their tenth wedding anniversary when I was seven years old.

Suffice it to say it will be hard for all of us.

Though right now I'm not sure how I feel about this surprise trip they've planned. And I'll tell you why.

Last night after they announced the travel plans, Mum and Dad also said that they want me to keep all of my wizarding books here.

Ugh. I mean... are they serious? I have all these new books and they don't want me to read them for a week! Do they even know me anymore?!

I mean, okay, they did have a good explanation. These were books from the wizarding world, something that very few Muggles are supposed to know about. So yes, it would be very risky for me to take one or two along on the trip, but it kills me to admit that. Out of the thirteen new books I bought from Diagon Alley, I've only read two so far and started on a third. Some of the books are massive!

So here is my reading list so far:

**Great Wizarding Events**** of the Twentieth Century**_**  
**_My opinion: The book is very informative and a great introduction for me into the recent past of a world I am about to join. It is quite a dark book at points, and there are also quite a few events in this book that the Muggle world knows about, except that they do not know the wizarding world's standpoint in their events.

For example, ten percent of the victims in the Titanic sinking were wizards trying to help the survivors without trying to use magic and break the Statute of Secrecy!

The second Muggle World War also had a lot to do with the wizarding world. Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster at Hogwarts defeated one of the greatest Dark Lords, Grindelwald in what was apparently one of the most famous duels in the history of the wizarding world!

And then there is the story of Harry Potter, and the end of what wizards called The Great War.

The evil guy the Patil twins told me about, the one they called You-Know-Who. He is mostly called You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In fact this book only gives his name twice for reference purposes. The name of the Dark Lord is Voldemort. Apparently he is the most feared wizard ever, even more so than Grindelwald. Nobody in the wizarding world says his name... they all fear it. I'm kind of ashamed to say I laughed when I saw the name. Voldemort literally means _flight from death _in French. It's very odd for a name choice, and it had be a name he gave himself. I am curious as to why he chose this name.

I guess I can say Voldemort's name to you, dear diary, and I will say You-Know-Who in the company of witches and wizards just to be respectable to their feelings about it, because at this point, I don't see what is so bad about saying his name. Maybe that is Muggleborn ignorance, I don't know...

Harry Potter was indeed just a baby, a little over a year old, when Voldemort murdered his parents and tried to kill him with the Killing Curse (the worst curse there is – not surprising in the least!) but it backfired and nobody knows what happened to Voldemort. Harry lived, with naught by a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead (at least that is the rumor) to give proof of the terrible deed, and a nickname around the wizarding world as "The Boy-Who-Lived."

There are a few moving pictures of Harry's parents – James and Lily Potter – throughout the years of their life, including one of James when he was eleven or twelve. They really were a beautiful couple. Lily Potter was extremely beautiful too and apparently a very smart witch for being a Muggleborn. That gave me a lot of hope. James was very handsome, and if his son got his looks, Harry is probably quite handsome too.

Not that I have a fancy for him or anything. Honestly! Really, if I do meet him I'd like nothing more than to be his friend. I have a feeling he needs some friends... if so, we share that in common with each other.

Oh dear, this was just supposed to be a personal opinion of a book, and I turned it into much more.

Where was I? Oh, yes. The other book I read:

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)**

My opinion: Mum and Dad made me promise that I would read my school books more than my 'leisure books', as they called the five books I bought outside the school books. They knew how excited I was to read my leisure books. So I compromised. I would read one of my leisure books, followed by one of the school books. Of course, it didn't really matter to me, because I am excited to read all of them... and this book was definitely my next choice to start on. There are numerous spells, mostly for Charms Class it seems, in this book, and we are supposed to have learned them all by the time our first year at Hogwarts ends. There are some really brilliant spells in the book.

For example, Alohomora, which is a Basic Unlocking Charm that unlocks doors that don't have complicated locks – "complicated" to a wizard is anything locked with magic... suffice it to say anything not locked with magic (example: Muggle doors) could easily be opened with the mastered version of this spell.

I haven't tried it yet, because I am still not sure if I want to risk getting trouble for doing magic at home, even if I completely trusted what Mr. Tonks said about the apparent loophole. Yes, I will probably succumb to trying a few spells here at home before I go to Hogwarts... but I think I'll try something a bit more simpler than Alohomora. I might just have to go through this book again and write down a few spells that I could try out.

**Current book: Hogwarts, A History**

I've only read a couple chapters of this book so far, and it has already given me one great reward...

I have named the Granger family owl!

Her name is Rowena, in honor of one of the Four Founders of Hogwarts, Rowena Ravenclaw. I thought that was a beautiful name for a beautiful owl.

I did have three other names on my mind:

**Helga: **For Helga Hufflepuff, another of the Four Founders, but I decided it didn't seem right for my owl.

**Nymphadora: **Mostly in honor and thanks to Ted Tonks for helping me and my parents in Diagon Alley. I only decided against this name because I remember that Ted's daughter has a bit of a dislike for her name, and if I ever meet her, and she meets my owl, it might embarrass both of us if I had named my owl after her name that she doesn't completely like.

**Minerva: **In honor of the first witch I ever knowingly met. But there was something in my memory of meeting Professor McGonagall that told me she might not like if it she learned my owl was named after her. Especially since she is a cat, and most cats and birds dislike each other.

But Rowena was perfect for me, and my parents like it too. Rowena seems to like it, so we're all happy.

Oh. Mum's calling me down for breakfast, and I want to read some more afterward, so I guess this is all for now, dear diary. I will try not to ignore you for a full week again. I promise to bring you on my trip to Paris.

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Sunday**** July 19****th****, 1991  
Flight to Paris, France from London England  
Time: 6:30 PM**

Dear Diary,

See I told you I wouldn't forget you on my trip!

So here I am on the short plane ride from London to Paris. I've taken this trip two times before, and it usually only takes an hour and a half to get between the two cities, so it isn't very long at all. Not even long enough for an in-flight movie! I usually prefer the window seat, where I am now, because I like watching the sky as we pass over it, especially if there is a light smattering of clouds. I can see the sun beginning its descent and night approaches, and soon, I might even see the stars and moon.

Thinking of the stars and moon makes me think of Astronomy Class, and of course that makes me think of all my wizarding stuff I left back at home. I tried to sneak Hogwarts, a History into my suitcase, but Mum caught me and gave me a bit of a lecture. Oops.

I miss my books. I know, I am probably weird for missing books, but books are my friends. And now it will be a full week before I can read them again.

I also had to leave my wand at home – though I am sure that is no surprise to you. I don't know why, but I don't feel right without my wand with me. I haven't even done any spells yet, so it is pretty useless right now, but even then, I feel – well – naked without my wand. It is a part of me. One of the most important tools – besides my brain – I will ever use as a witch, and it is at home sitting in my trunk! I don't like that feeling. That's it... starting next week, no matter what Mum and Daddy say, I will never go anywhere without my wand. It is just another limb of my body now... like an extra arm or leg.

Wow... I was just looking out my window while thinking if I wanted to tell you anything else, and I imagined I was riding a broomstick like that Nimbus 2000 I saw. It was kind of a beautiful thought. Maybe I should give broomsticks a chance if I get the opportunity.

That's all for now. I'll try not to forget writing to you during my week in Paris.

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Saturday**** July 25****th****, 1991  
My Bedroom – My Home  
Time: 8:00 PM**

Dear Diary,

Oops... looks like I have to apologize for forgetting about you for the second Saturday in a row. I am sorry!

I just had a wonderful week in Paris. And it was quite non-stop too!

We visited the Louvre again – oh that museum should be one of the wonders of the world... I've heard people call the glass pyramid there "a blemish on the face of Paris", but it is beautiful! I did have a new experience in the Louvre though... as Mum and Daddy and I walked around the museum, looking at all the art, I began to wonder if any of the artists were wizards or witches, living in secret, but lending their talents to the Muggle world in a way Muggles could enjoy it too.

We also visited Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower (the view at the top was more breathtaking then I imagined, and made me, once again, think of broomsticks) and took a boat tour on the River Seine.

I don't have a really mushy side, but watching my parents in the City of Love was kind of cute in an amusing way.  
More than once this past week, I had a dream that I was a few years older, sitting on a broomstick, gliding over Paris, and I was not alone! There was a faceless gentleman, and we must have been married, because I was in a wedding dress!

Before you ask, the faceless gentleman was probably not Harry Potter, because I probably would have seen his father's face or something (since apparently they look alike)... so it was not him!

Great... now I feel like I have a mushy side... thank you City of Love (that was sarcasm by the way)!

Ugh... I need to distract myself from these thoughts... back to my books!

Love, Hermione (see... mushy! Ugh!)

* * *

**Friday July 31****st****, 1991  
My Bedroom – My Home  
Time: 9:00 PM**

Dear Diary,

So, just a few minutes ago, I realized today is Harry Potter's 11th birthday.

I know he apparently lives with Muggle relatives, and I wondered if he grew up knowing he is a wizard, or if he just learned about it today, because someone like Professor McGonagall came by his house and told him so. I imagine it probably would have been today, because today is the deadline for Hogwarts applications.

I really hope he had a good birthday today.

As for me... in one month, it will be the last day of summer holidays, and the following day will be when I go to Hogwarts! I cannot wait! So excited!

I also realized that once again, I haven't written to you, dear diary, in nearly a week. I have been immersed in my books again. Hogwarts, A History really was wonderful and it gave me insight into the castle I will soon be going to. Made me even more excited!

The next book I read was: _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection. _I chose this as the next school book I wanted to read, because it is similar to what I was looking for when it came to Defense against the Dark Arts, which this so happens to be the book we have for the class. Unfortunately, it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. I'm wondering if our Defense Professor has a fascination with magical creatures like vampires, hags and the like, because that is mostly what this book is telling us to defend ourselves against, and not somebody like a Dark wizard. I don't know... maybe we don't learn how to defend ourselves against dark wizards for a few more years.

Now I am going to read the Muggleborn book on simple spells, and see if I can actually work one or two out. I'll tell you more about my discoveries soon! The only problem is... next Monday, Mum and Daddy go back to work, which means Mr. Neiman will be back to babysitting me. And I can't very well show him any of my magic stuff when he's here...

That reminds me... I need to find a place to hide all this stuff from him... hmm...

Anyway...

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Sunday, August 8****th****,**** 1991  
My Bedroom – My Home  
Time: 9:30 PM**

Dear Diary,

As I predicted, it is extremely difficult to read my school and leisure magic books with Mr. Neiman present. I have to limit reading these books during the nights and weekends instead, so I've only finished one book, the Muggleborn book this past week. That is the fifth book so far, and I have eight left... eight books to read before the month is over, and I am limited to them during the night and weekend! I'm not very happy about that.

Okay, you probably want to some good news. I have some good news for you! I actually did a couple of spells today, with Mum and Daddy present.

The first was Scourgify, the scouring/cleaning charm. The book said it was fairly simple, though young witches and wizards might not be able to pull it off without loads of practice. So I practiced it during the week at night and only was able to complete it today! I used it on Rowena's cage to clean it because it was quite a mess! And it worked! I asked Mum if I could use it to clean the dishes from dinner, but she declined. I think she probably hoped I would not forget who I was before I found out I was a witch: someone who had to do dishes by hand with soapy water. Really... a simple spell could have cleaned those dishes in less than a minute, and it took fifteen to clean up everything, and I KNOW they're not as spotless as they would be with the cleaning charm.

The other spell was a version of the Repairing charm. The book clearly said that there are many versions of the Repairing charm, because everything breaks. For example, if you break a window, it would be easier to repair with magic, then say repairing a car (most wizards didn't use cars, but again, this was a Muggleborn book, so it referenced cars). One of the versions of the repairing charm was a spell to repair eyeglasses. Daddy wears glasses, and today, his were knocked off his bedside table when he woke up this morning, and he accidentally stepped on them trying to find them. So, I used what is known as Oculus Reparo, and it fixed the shattered glasses! Daddy was happy, because it would have cost him quite a bit to get them repaired otherwise.

I'm quite proud of myself though. This proves I can really do magic. I am starting to think that I will be on level ground with my fellow students at Hogwarts... of course, it will only be that way if I can read my other books by then!

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Saturday, August 14****th****,**** 1991  
My Bedroom – My Home  
Time: 10:00 PM**

Dear Diary,

Today was wonderful. We got a phone-call last night during dinner from Ted Tonks, telling us he'd be in the area for work, and wondered if we'd like to meet up with him. Daddy agreed, and he, Mum and I met up with him in a popular restaurant here in Oxford that we love. He also brought his wife, Andromeda, with him. Their daughter, Nymphadora, was out of the country on her very first 'faux field-work mission'. It was top-secret, but apparently she was very excited about it.

Watching Ted and his wife, Andromeda, together reminded me of my parents. Andromeda was beautiful in her own way, though she looked as if she had been through a lot in her life. I remembered Ted saying that she was quite miserable after Harry Potter's parents died, and I wondered if she had lost more friends then his parents during the Great War and it still affected her greatly.

Ted was excited to hear that I had pulled off two successful spells already, and told me they were perfect for me to learn at this age, because they were handy and rather simple if done right. Both were also commonly used in everyday magic as well.

And then Ted said something that made me quite happy...

We were half-way through our meal, chatting about different things quietly, because a lot of it had to do with the wizarding world, and we were in a Muggle restaurant.

Though, now that I remember correctly, my Daddy had voiced his concern about the topic of our conversation in a public place like that, and Ted said "Most Muggles hardly notice anything right in front of their eyes, especially having to do with magic. Their mind tells them it isn't normal, so they ignore it just to keep on the sane side." Then his wife smacked him lightly on the shoulder and reminded him that there were two Muggles right here who has basically described for a good many years. Mum and Dad only laughed, and Daddy said it was okay, knowing that Ted obviously understood our position, so it was no real offense.

Anyway, we were talking about different subjects, when Ted looked at me and said "Hermione, I think you'll be curious to know that Harry Potter was sighted at the very end of last month, on his birthday."

I was lucky not to choke on the piece of chicken I was currently eating.

"Really?" I asked.

"One of our dear friends," Ted said, "The gamekeeper at Hogwarts, accompanied him in Diagon Alley on his birthday. Hagrid's his name. He is a bit of a big fellow –"

"But harmless as a teddy bear, he is!" Andromeda chuckled.

"That's right," Ted said, "He said that –" Ted's face fell into a bit of concern, and I frowned, wondering what he had learned, "- Harry didn't even know he was a wizard until Hagrid told him. He didn't tell me much, but I think those Muggle relatives of Harry's didn't want him to know he was a wizard."

"Why?" I asked.

"Dunno," Ted said, shrugging, "But Hagrid wouldn't have it. He gave Harry his Hogwarts letter first thing that morning, and took him to Diagon Alley to get his things for Hogwarts. Even bought him his own owl for a birthday present."

"So he will be a classmate of mine?" I asked, grinning.

"One-hundred percent guaranteed, Hermione," Ted said.

Suffice it to say, I was quite happy. Well, not happy in a way where you'd think I have a fancy for him like other witches my age, but I would like to be his friend. I think I have a good chance at that, because I refuse to be one those students Ted had said might stare at him because he is famous. I didn't grow up hearing his name, so to me he is a normal boy, who found out he was a wizard and is now going to Hogwarts without really knowing what to expect from the wizarding world. Like me basically.

Yes, I think we could be good friends.

Anyway, I should update you on my reading so far.

I really want to get into _Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _and _Modern Magical History_, but I have to compromise and read my school books too. Blimey... two weeks to go before school begins! Yes, I really do need to get into those school books.

Could you forgive me if I don't write in you much over the next couple of weeks? I really should concentrate!

Yes? No?

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Saturday, August 31****st****,**** 1991  
My Bedroom – My Home  
Time: 8:00 PM**

Dear Diary,

Well, I did warn you, didn't I? It has been two weeks since I wrote in you, but I really have been busy trying to catch up on my reading...

And I am happy to say it worked! Just today I finished reading _A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot, the last book on my list!

I do feel like I accomplished a lot over the past couple of weeks. I have tried some more spells, and they've worked... I tried to master the Basic Unlocking Charm, and while it worked on this diary (oh, yes, by the way, I fastened a lock to you, dear diary... don't want anyone at school reading this, so I want it locked! Though it is kinda pointless if they know Alohomora, hmm...) it didn't work on my door. I'm kinda embarrassed at that... but we'll just leave that between you and me, and if anyone asks, I'll say I've done a few spells and they've worked for me... because it is the truth... other than Alohomora, which as I said, I've only been able to unlock you and not any doors! Embarrassing,

Hmmph!

So yes, as you can see by the date, this is the last night of the summer... you know what that means, right?

TOMORROW I GO TO HOGWARTS!

Oops... I squealed out loud and Mum caught me again: "I know you're excited, honey, but keep it down, okay!"

Yeah, Mum... I'll try... and probably fail.

Right now, I am taking a break from packing everything in my trunk, though I am also making a carry-on bag for the train ride tomorrow. Mum doesn't want me putting on my robes until I get on the train so Muggles don't see it, so that will be in my carry-on bag, as well as you, dear diary, and a big of wizarding money. Ted said when we had dinner with him and Andromeda that snacks are sold on the train ride, but not to gorge myself because the opening feast is "to die for" in his words, though he added "as long as you survive the Sorting!"

Survive? I'm sure he was joking... right?

Hmm...

I hope I don't have nightmares tonight. I'll write more to you tomorrow. I'm sure you'll hear a lot from me tomorrow. So much is going to happen, but I PROMISE not to forget you.

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Well, this chapter jumped around a lot, but I wanted to get from the Diagon Alley visit to the end of summer pretty quickly. I think I accomplished it well and made it a nice chapter to read.**

**I foresee a few complaints about the possible Harry/Hermione in this chapter because how she talked about the whole "I want him to be a friend, not someone I'll fancy" thing. I emphasized in the dream that it was not Harry. I'm sure you can probably guess who I decided was in the dream, even though it was a faceless gentleman.**

**On a more personal note, I have a feeling I am going to lose internet access at home either today or tomorrow (August 23****rd**** or 24****th****) and I won't be able to afford to get it back until sometime in September. I do have access to go to a library close-by, but I can't always go there cause of other real life stuff going on. So if there are not updates for this story for days, that is why. I promise once I get home-internet back on, there will be more frequent updates. Same goes for those of you who read "Harry Potter and the Bonds of Time" I will try to update that soon as well.**

**Next chapter is the Hogwarts Express and you know what happens there! Who else will Hermione meet and talk to? You'll find out next chapter!**


	6. Missing: One Toad

**Chapter 6  
Missing: One Toad  
**

**Sunday, September 1****st****, 1991  
My Bedroom – My House  
Time: 6:45 AM**

Dear Diary,

Yes, I am up early, but I have a good reason to be!

TODAY I GO TO HOGWARTS!

Okay, I told you that yesterday too, but who cares? Do you, because I don't. I'm pretty excited. Mum woke me up a few minutes ago so I could get packed and get some breakfast before we have to leave. We figured out the trip last night. We have to be at King's Cross between 10:00 and 11:00 this morning (the train leaves precisely at 11:00 AM). The drive from here to London usually takes between an hour and a half to two hours, so we'll leave around between eight and eight-thirty.

Right now I am trying to think if I missed anything after packing, so lets see...

**Checklist:  
Trunk:  
**  
8 school books and four leisure books (Hogwarts, A History is going with me on the train in case I want to read something – apparently it is a pretty long trip.)  
Cauldron  
Potion ingredients and various tools  
Parchment, quills, ink  
2 sets of school robes (other set is going in carry-on bag)  
Black hat, protective gloves, and winter cloak  
Normal everyday wear (when I don't have to wear school robes)

**Carry-On Bag:**

Hogwarts, A History (for leisurely reading)  
Set of school robes  
Money bag with 20 galleons (suggested amount by Ted Tonks)

My wand will be in my pocket, and you will be in my carry-on bag shortly. So let's see...

Yep, everything is where it should be!

And right on cue, there is Mum telling me breakfast is ready!

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Sunday, September 1****st****, 1991  
Hogwarts Express – Carriage  
Time: 10:55 AM**

Whew! I made it, with five minutes to spare! Getting here was absolutely insane. I wasn't sure if we could even find out how to get onto the train, which by the way is a lot harder than it sounds.

Where should I begin? Let's see...

As a result of perfect schedule planning, Daddy, Mum and I arrived in London about ten minutes after ten-o-clock, and it took another twenty or so to get to King's Cross through the traffic, which was really horrible. It seemed everyone in London was headed for the train station.

Daddy pulled up to the curb reserved for Drop-offs, so Mum and I could find a luggage cart to place my trunk and carry-on bag on, while he found a place to park. This was a good idea, since the line for the carts was pretty long, and by the time we were able to get a cart, we had twenty-five minutes to get to the platform. Daddy had only found us when we took a cart, and that is where it got REALLY interesting.

"So which platform are we headed to, dear?" Mum asked, as we walked away from the crowd gathering to get their own cart.

"Platform – err – nine-and-three quarters," I said, then blushed as I realized just how silly that sounded.

Mum and Daddy looked at each other and I could see the panic in their eyes.

"I've never heard of Platform nine-and-three quarters," Daddy said.

"If we'd had known, we could have asked Ted," Mum said.

Okay, before I continue, I just realized what we had forgotten, and now I am very embarassed about it. We had forgotten there were instructions on how to get onto the platform in that packed Professor McGonagall had given us! And we had also forgotten I could have used my emergency coin communication thingy, though Professor McGonagall was probably fairly busy today.

Anyway, so Dad and Mum stood there for a nearly half-a-minute trying to decide what to do. So I finally said "why don't we just find platform nine and see if we can figure out what to do then."

Daddy and Mum agreed, so Daddy pushed the cart, and Mum and I followed him toward Platform 9. As we headed through King's Cross, I looked around to see if I could find any body who might be witches and wizards boarding a train.

Soon, we arrived near Platform nine, where I saw a clock above the "Platform 9" sign that read 10:45. Fifteen minutes to get onto the train.

"Oh dear," Mum said, "I don't see any signs that would tell us where Platform nine-and-three quarters is."

"Nine-and-three-quarters did you say?" a voice said behind us.

Mum, Daddy and I spun around. The owner of the voice was a formidable-looking elderly lady. She reminded me of Professor McGonagall. Near her was a small, pudgy boy, around my height and probably my age. He looked very timid, perhaps scared of something? I heard a distinct croaking sound coming from near him, and saw that he was holding a toad in his hands.

"Yes we did, ma'am," Daddy said, politely, "Do you know where it is?"

"Augusta Longbottom, kind sir, and this is my grandson, Neville," Andromeda said, "And yes, of course I know where it is."

"I'm Hermione Granger," I said, when Neville looked at me. He smiled briefly and waved at me.

"Platform nine-and-three quarters is right behind you!" Augusta said.

I raised my eyebrows and turned around, as did Mum and Daddy. All I saw was a brick wall.

"Er... I don't see anything," Daddy said, and I had to agree.

"Ah, a Muggleborn witch," Augusta said, looking at me, "Of course. That's okay, it is Neville's first time too. All you have to do is run straight at that brick wall and you'll go right through it. Easy as that."

Run at a brick wall? Er... right... easy... ha!

It was obvious Augusta could see our confusion, because she gave an audible sigh.

"Neville, I think you can do it, yes?" she said.

"I – err – um -" Neville stammered.

"Oh, go on, boy, you can do it!" Augusta said with another great sigh, "Merlin bless it!"

Neville frowned and looked at me. I smiled encouragingly, and he nodded.

"Yes, Gran, I can do it," he said, then muttered, "Come on, Trevor."

He walked past me and my parents and stopped a few feet from the brick wall. He looked back at his grandmother, then me, and then turned and walked straight toward the brick wall...

I was about to tell him to stop when he vanished straight into the wall! Mum and Daddy gave audible gasps.

"See, I knew he could do it," Augusta said, "You next, young lady, don't be scared. And don't worry about the Muggles seeing you, they don't see nothing."

I looked at my parents who were looking at each other with frightened expressions.

"I can do this," I said to them, but mostly to convince myself.

"We'll – erm – be right behind you with your things," Mum said and Daddy nodded

I nodded and looked at the brick wall. I walked forward toward it and did not stop. When I got closer, though, I closed my eyes in fright and just kept going...

…. and heard the chugging sounds of a train engine.

I opened my eyes and gasped at the sight. Through a fog-like smoke, I saw a beautiful scarlet steam-engine with the Hogwarts seal and the words "Hogwarts Express" on one of the walls of the outside of the train. A sign nearby read "Platform 9 ¾" and beyond that, I saw hundreds of children and adults talking to each other and hugging each other.

"Trevor!" Neville's voice said, "Oh, come on, Trevor, where did you go?!"

I turned and saw Neville frantically looking around on the floor.

"Are you okay, Neville?" I asked.

Neville looked up at me and frowned. "I lost my toad... again."

"I can help you find him," I said.

"Nah... I can do it," Neville said.

"Well... he might have hopped aboard the train," I said, spotting all the open doors of the train's carriages.

"Yeah, maybe," Neville said, "There's Gran and your parents."

I turned and saw Mum and Daddy looking rather windswept, and gazing at the train and platform. I turned back to Neville.

"I hope you find your toad," I said, "and if you still need help later, come and find me. We can find him together."

"Yeah... I guess so," Neville said.

Neville walked over to his grandmother and I followed Mum and Daddy across the platform with the luggage cart. I looked around to see if I could find Parvati and Padma, hoping that maybe we could sit together on the train, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Trunks!" a man said, "Trunks here! You, sir, can I get your little girl's trunk?"

Daddy took the cart from the trunk from the luggage cart and handed it to the man.

"TEN MINUTES!" a voice rang out, "Ten minute warning! The Hogwarts Express leaves in ten minutes!"

I looked up at Mum and Daddy, and saw that Mum had tears in her eyes. I blinked back my own tears and walked over to her and hugged her.

"Don't worry about me, Hermione," Mum said, "I'll be fine. You just go and have fun at school and learn magic."

I nodded and wiped an incoming tear from my eye, then looked at Daddy and hugged him.

"You don't have to go, Hermione," Daddy said, " if you don't have to do this. There is a school in Oxford that is perfect for students your age and up for the next few years! Smart children like you. And you would be home every night. And weekends."_  
_

"I must go, Daddy!" I said, and felt more tears stream down my face, "This is what I want! I want to be a witch!"

"Okay, Hermione," Daddy said, "I know... it was just a thought."

"I know," I said, "But I really want to do this, Daddy. This is me now. And I'll be home for Christmas, and I'll write to you at least once a week... more if I can. And you can send Rowena, of course."

"Your father knows that, Hermione," Mum said.

"Um... well... I better get going," I said.

"Yeah," Daddy said, "Probably want to find a seat."

I nodded and hugged Mum, then Daddy once again. I wiped more tears from my eyes and inhaled and exhaled trying to calm myself down. I picked up my carry-on bag and took a final glance at Mum and Daddy and smiled at them.

"I love you, guys," I said.

They responded in the same and I nodded and turned to the open door in the train. I gulped and walked aboard the Hogwarts Express. It didn't take me too long to find this empty carriage, though I have a feeling...

Parvati and Padma Patil and another girl just walked by and saw me, and I invited them in. I have carriage-mates! Yay!

I'll write more soon. I am sure I'll have a lot more to say before the day is over.

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Sunday, September 1****st****, 1991  
Hogwarts Express – Different Carriage  
****Time: 6:30 PM (approx.)**

Well, THAT was an interesting few hours so far on this train. I met a few more of my classmates, and one in particular, though I will wait to reveal that surprise for just a little bit.

I'll start where I left off on my last entry.

I put you away in my carry-on bag as Parvati, Padma, and a blonde-haired witch who was our age walked into the carriage.

"Hermione, isn't it?" Parvati asked, as she and her sister sat across from me, and the blonde-haired girl joined my seat.

"Yes," I said, "And... Parvati and Padma, yes?"

The twin sisters grinned and nodded.

"Well, it seems I am behind the times!" the blonde-haired girl said, with a light giggle.

"Oh, right," Parvati said, "Hermione Granger, this is Lavender Brown, one of our best friends. Lavender, Hermione here is Muggleborn. We met her at Flourish and Blott's in June."

"Nice to meet you, Lavender," I said.

"Nice to meet you too, Hermione," Lavender said, "Was that a diary?"

"Yeah, Daddy gave it to me when I graduated from primary school," I said. "It is my first ever one, but I really like to write in it."

"Primary school?" Lavender asked.

"You don't know what that is?" I asked, and the girls nodded, "Oh, it is like Hogwarts without everything magical, I suppose."

"Oh... we were home-schooled," Padma said, and Parvati and Lavender nodded.

"Most witches and wizards are who grow up in magical families," Lavender said, "Usually the adults are worried we're going to use accidental magic if we become angry or something and risk the Statute of Secrecy."

"I can understand that," I said, then giggled, "I might have accidentally used magic a couple months ago."

I told them about the pencil incident and they were quite amused at that.

"Luckily it didn't hit anyone," I said, "I was so confused, because at that time I didn't know what was going on. It was only a couple weeks later when I found out I'm a witch. Ever since I visited Diagon Alley I've been reading all sorts of books and trying spells -"

"Wait, you did spells?" Parvati asked.

"Yeah," I said, "I wanted to learn some spells before I came to Hogwarts. Don't most of our classmates already know a few? I didn't want to be behind."

Parvati and Padma looked at each other.

"We haven't used our wands once since we bought them," Parvati said.

Lavender nodded in agreement.

"So you know a few spells," she said, "You must be really smart!"

I blushed and shrugged.

"You could definitely be a Ravenclaw!" Padma said, "That is what I want to be."

Parvati harrumphed.

"Something wrong, Parvati?" I asked.

"Don't mind her," Padma said, "She's just worried we won't be in the same house together."

"I don't want to be a Ravenclaw!" Parvati said, "Gryffindors have the most fun, you know."

"Yeah, I agree," Lavender said.

"Those are two of the houses, yes?" I asked.

"Yeah," Padma said, "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin."

She said the last house with a tone of disgust, and Lavender and Parvati shuddered.

"What is wrong with Slytherin?" I asked.

The three girls raised their eyebrows and looked at me.

"Everything!" Lavender said, "Everyone knows only the darkest wizards go into Slytherin! Apparently You-Know-Who and his followers were all in Slytherin. Every single one."

I gulped. Okay... I could see the point in their reactions. Suddenly, the engine of the train shuddered, and started to move. The four of us grinned at each other in excitement. We were off to Hogwarts!

"So..." Lavender said, to the Patils, "Have you two girls seen him yet?"

"No, we were hoping to see him," Parvati said.

"But no such luck," Padma said, "We searched around the Platform for him until we saw you. Did you see him?"

"No," Lavender pouted. "I was hoping you did."

The three girls looked at me and I raised my eyebrows in confusion. Then I realized...

"Oh," I said, "you're talking about..."

"Harry Potter," Padma, Parvati and Lavender said in unison.

"You do know who that is, right?" Lavender said.

"I read about him, yeah," Hermione said, "I feel really sorry for him now."

"It is a pretty sad story, yeah," Padma said.

"It is, but that isn't what I meant," I said, "He grew up with those Muggle relatives of his and didn't find out he was a wizard until the end of this most recent July on his birthday."

"Really?" Padma asked.

"How do you know that?" Lavender asked.

"Oh," I said, blushing, "My parents and I met up with someone in Diagon Alley, and we became friends with him. We went to dinner with him a couple weeks ago, and he is friends with someone who accompanied Harry to Diagon Alley on his birthday. He said that Harry knew nothing about the wizarding world, didn't even know he was famous. And now there are going to be all these girls fawning over him, and students who look at him because he's famous and might not even know why."

Parvati, Padma and Lavender looked at me with frowns on their faces.

"That's just what I think," I said, shrugging.

The carriage went really quiet, and I realized I might have said something that they weren't agreeable with. I blushed and looked out the window at the passing scenery, though through the reflection, I could see the three girls looking at each other skeptically. At that moment, I thought about writing to you about my conversation with them, but I decided against it. So I took out Hogwarts, A History and started to read it. Lavender, Parvati and Padma talked to each other and the hours and scenery passed by. At one point, when I was halfway through my book, Parvati suggested we dress into our robes, so we took turns waiting in the corridor while each of the girls dressed in their robes. I was third to go, so I quickly dressed into my robes, and replaced my clothes in the bag. When I walked out and Lavender walked in, I saw Neville walking toward me looking very panicky and frantic.

"Are you okay?" Parvati asked.

"Still can't find your toad, Neville?" I asked.

Neville shook his head, and looked as if he was going to really cry. "Wh-what if he was left on the platform?"

I really felt sorry for him.

"I'll help you look for him, Neville," I said, then turned to the Patils, "Can you keep an eye on my bag? I'll be back in a while."

"Are you sure?" Parvati asked, "It is already nearly five. We'll probably be arriving in a couple hours or so,"

Almost five-o-clock? Had I been reading for that long?

"I'll be back soon," I said, "I want to help him find his toad."

"Okay, we'll keep an eye on your bag," Parvati said, and Padma nodded.

"Thanks," I said, then turned and walked down the corridor with Neville, "Come on, he must be on the train somewhere."

"I hope so," Neville said.

Neville and I searched for a good half-hour, before we decided to split up. Neville went on ahead and I started searching through the corridors, and looking through carriages as I passed them, though all I found were students staring back at me. In one part of the train, I found a carriage with the door open and I walked over to it. Inside were a red-head pair of twin brothers, and a black boy.

"Have any of you seen a toad?" I asked, "A boy named Neville's lost one."

"Sorry," the black boy said.

I frowned, and my eye caught onto a large box sitting between the twins.

"So what's in the box then?" I asked, "It looks big enough for a toad."

"She's right, Fred," one of the boys said, "It is big enough for one."

"Yes, it is, George," Fred said.

The black boy snickered and I rolled my eyes.

"Is it in there or not?" I asked, crossing my arms against my chest, trying to look and sound authoritative.

Fred, George and their friend looked at each other. Fred took the lid off the box and moved the box toward me.

Inside was very, VERY large spider. I shrieked and backed up. Fred, George and their friend howled in laughter.

"I-I'll just be going now," I said, "Definitely not a toad."

Before the three could speak up, I headed off down the corridor.

Another half-hour later, things were starting to look hopeless. I looked through windows I passed and...

I almost jumped out of my shoes! I backed up a bit and took a deep breath. Sitting there in that carriage I had just looked into was Harry Potter! I was almost sure of it!

I told myself to breathe and that I was not going to be one of those girls who would just go in there squealing because they had a mad crush on someone they didn't even know. I was not one of those girls. I just was hoping to be his friend if everything worked out right. He needed friends...

And yet he was not alone in the carriage either. A red-headed boy was there too...

I peered through the window to take another look. Yeah, the boy Harry was talking to was definitely related to those twins with the extremely large spider. It seemed Harry already had a friend. I didn't want to crowd him.

I was about to walk ahead to continue my search for Neville's toad, when I saw Neville walking toward me.

"Hermione, there you are!" Neville said, "Have you found him?"

"No," I said, "I – err – was just about to ask the boys in there."

Neville looked through the window and his eyes widened and looked back at me.

"I already asked them," Neville muttered.

I opened the sliding door. The red-head boy had his wand raised and looked as if he was about to do magic. He and Harry Potter looked at me.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" I asked, "Neville's lost one."

The red-headed boy said something, but I was just looking at his wand. It looked rather flimsy.

"Oh, are you doing magic?" I asked, "Let's see it then."

I sat down next to him and Ron blinked twice.

"Er... all right," he said, then cleared his throat. "_Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,t__urn this stupid, fat rat yellow._"

I tried my hardest not to laugh... that was unlike any spell I had ever heard of... probably wasn't real! And why did the boy have a pet rat with him? Didn't he read that we could only bring an OWL or CAT or TOAD. Definitely a rule-breaker for sure, that one.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" I said, frowning at the rule-breaking boy, "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

I, of course, knew that the boy with glasses was Harry Potter, but I didn't want to say that. Harry and his friend looked at each other with raised eyebrows. The red-head spoke up first.

"I'm Ron Weasley," he muttered, and he sounded kind of embarrassed to admit that.

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said.

I heard Neville squeak nearby, and I very much hoped Harry and Ron hadn't heard that, so I decided to do what I told myself not to do.

I went into fan-girl mode.

"Are you really?" I said, "I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History _and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century._"

"Am I?" said Harry, looking quite surprised.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," I said. "Do either of you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad..."

I blushed, and realized I was mumbling. I had taken my faux fan-girl mode a _little_too far. I looked back at Neville then looked back at Harry and Ron.

"Anyway," I said, "we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

I walked out of the carriage and Neville followed me.

"You know about Harry Potter?" Neville asked, as we headed back down the corridor, "But I thought you said you were Muggleborn."

"I read upon him, like I told him," I said, "I'm not like one of those fan-girls of his..."

"Kinda sounded like it," Neville muttered, then blushed when he must have realized he said it out loud.

"I know... I should go back and apologize to him about that," I said, "I feel so embarrassed!"

"Can't we find my toad first?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, let's search once more, and then we'll go up to the conductor at the front of the train and tell him to ask the people back at the platform if they found a toad, eh?"

Neville nodded. I smiled and we headed back through the sections of the train. Another half-an-hour passed before we got to the front of the train. A man in an official looking outfit, who must have been the conductor was there, sipping from a flask. Through a door ahead of him was where the controls for the train were, and I wondered if the train was charmed to run by itself.

"Oi, you two shouldn't be up here," the conductor said.

"I'm sorry, sir," I said, "but my friend here has lost his toad and I thought -"

"You say you lost a toad?" the conductor asked.

"Y-yes, sir," Neville stammered, "I-I have sir."

"Well, then you're in luck lad!" the conductor said, and he turned and picked up a small box. Inside was Neville's toad!

"Trevor!" Neville said, sounding happier than I heard him all day, "How did you find him?"

"The snack lady brought him up here," the conductor said, "Said she found him roaming on the snack cart."

"Oh, he – erm – likes Fudge Flies," Neville said, "Bad Trevor!"

"Well, we'll be arriving at Hogwarts pretty soon," the conductor said, "So why don't you go back to your carriages, eh?"

"Thank you, sir!" Neville said.

"Yes, thanks," I said.

Neville and I left with Trevor, and we headed back to my carriage. When we arrived, Parvati, Padma, and Lavender were there, and they were with a sandy-haired boy and a black boy.

"There you are!" Parvati said.

"Oops, we don't have room for seven in here," Lavender said, "Just one more."

"That's okay," I said, grabbing my carry-on bag, "Neville can take my spot. I need to go find – err – somebody."

I didn't want to tell them that I had found Harry Potter.

"See you when we get to the school," I said, "Neville, please keep an eye on your toad."

"I will, thank you, Hermione," Neville said.

I smiled and left the carriage. I really needed to go apologize to Harry for my big mouth. I was sure I had embarrassed him. So I headed back down the corridors of the train and found their carriage. The door was open and the carriage was a mess! There were candy wrappers and snacks all over. Ron was holding his pet rat by the tail.

"What has been going on?" I demanded.

"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said, to Harry.

Knocked out? The rat? How did the rat get knocked out?

"No,I don't believe it!" Ron said, "he's gone back to sleep."

Well, that was a better explanation than being knocked out, the poor thing!

"You've met Malfoy before?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, "I met him in Diagon Alley. He was quite rude. Kept asking me stuff and wanted to know my name... didn't tell him that day."

I raised my eyebrows. Who were they talking about?

"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

He looked at me with raised eyebrows as if just remembering I was here.

"Can we help you with something?" he asked.

I tried my best not to scoff. What a rude little boy!

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on," I said, "I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, and he actually scowled at me! "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

I blushed. I then realized I wanted to come here to apologize to Harry for my behavior, but if he was fighting with someone, then... well, he didn't deserve it.

Hmmph!

Then, I realized I needed to make an excuse for being there...

"All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," I said, hoping it sounded legitimate.

And then I grinned as I looked at Ron. Was that... ha! I wondered if he knew about it... so I did the proper thing about it. I asked him if he knew.

"And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way," I asked him, "did you know?"

Ron glared at me, predictably, but I only smiled innocently and walked off.

So here I am in an empty carriage, all alone, waiting for the Hogwarts Express to arrive at Hogwarts, which should be very shortly.

Wow... already been a very long day and I have a feeling this is just the start of it all! What a first day in the wizarding world.

Hopefully I'll be able to tell you more about it tonight, if I am not too tired.

Until then,

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Oh my goodness, I loved this chapter. I had so much fun writing Hermione's interactions with different people, especially Harry and Ron... even though we already knew the discussion, Hermione's actions for ****being there (faux fan-girl, wanting to apologize, then deciding against it) was so fun. Oh and the Fred and George scene was really fun as well.**

**Next the Sorting Hat and Welcoming Feast!**

**Hope you liked this chapter as much as I did!**


	7. Welcome To Hogwarts!

**Chapter 7**  
**Welcome To Hogwarts!**

**Author's Note:** Hermione has four dorm-mates. Lavender and Parvati of course, but there are two more and I will be including the other two in this story. One is apparently named Fay Dunbar, and there are a few other possibilities seen on HP Wiki as to who the other one is. I decided to use a girl on there named Lily Moon, her last name had an appearance during the sorting in the book. They both make their first appearances in this chapter.

* * *

**Sunday, September 1****st****, 1991  
1****st**** Years Girls Dorm – Gryffindor Tower  
Time: 10:15 PM  
**

What an end to a long, exciting day! I have classes tomorrow, so I can't stay up very late, but my dorm-mates are chatting away non-stop, so I think I'll stay up and tell you, my dear diary about the rest of the day... I don't think I would be able to write it the same way tomorrow if I waited anyway!

It was about nearing seven-o-clock when the conductor's voice announced throughout the train that we were now arriving at Hogsmeade Station.

I grabbed my carry-on bag and walked into the corridor. Other students were piling out through the nearest door, so I followed them. People were placing their carry-on bags in a couple of near-by piles, where older wizards assured us everything, trunks included, would be in our dorms by the end of the night. At that moment, I didn't know where I'd be sleeping tonight, so I wasn't sure I wanted to leave my bag there, and it seemed like I wasn't the only one.

"Hey, Hermione," Neville said, behind me, and I turned and smiled, "guess we leave this here, huh?"

He dropped his backpack into the pile, so I nodded and dropped my bag.

"Reckon I should bring Trevor with me?" Neville asked, the toad in question stuck his head out of the pocket in Neville's robes.

"Probably should," I said, "you might lose him again otherwise."

Before Neville could respond, I heard a loud voice nearby.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" the voice said.

I turned and looked for the owner of the voice, and saw a VERY large man standing there, easily seen amongst the gathering students. I then realized, as soon as he had called out Harry Potter's name, that this must be the man Ted spoke about, Hagrid the game-keeper.

"Blimey, he's tall," Neville whispered.

He wasn't the only one who commented on Hagrid's size, and I only nodded, so as not to be rude.

"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years?" Hagrid said, "Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Neville and I followed our fellow first years as Hagrid led us down a steep, narrow path. It was quite dark and creepy to be honest.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Ooooooh!" from the students around me... I soon realized I was one of those who gasped.

I had good reason though. The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many

turrets and towers. I had never seen a more beautiful building in my life. I was mesmerized... so mesmerized in fact, I almost missed what Hagrid said, even though his voice was booming.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.

I saw Harry Potter and his trouble-making friend Ron Weasley get into a boat. I wasn't sure I wanted to go with them, so I looked around and saw the Patil sisters, but they were sitting with Lavender and the sandy-haired boy that had been in the carriage with them at one point. I sighed in resignation and walked toward Harry and Ron's boat, with Neville following right behind me.

Ron looked at me with raised eyebrows, as I sat down behind him and I smiled lightly. If he was friends with Harry already, and I wanted to be Harry's friend, I was probably going to have to compromise with this boy and be his friend too. Unfortunately he only shrugged and turned around. I rolled my eyes... what was the matter with him anyway? Didn't even return my friendly smile. Harry stared forward, probably still gobsmacked at the castle, and I wasn't even sure he knew I was in the boat!

Good friends are SO hard to find!

"Everyone in?" Hagrid asked, and I giggled when I noticed he had a boat to himself, "Right then – FORWARD!"

The boats jutted forward and started gliding off at once. It was a bit eerie how silent everyone was, and I soon realized Harry wasn't the only one staring up at the large castle. Like I said, it was quite beautiful, but I had seen some pictures of the castle in Hogwarts, A History. Surely some of my fellow classmates read the book... right?

The boats brought us into a tunnel which was quite beautiful to say the least. When we arrived on shore, we stepped out and gathered around.

"Oh, no!" Neville said, "I lost Trevor again!"

I heard Ron snort and narrowed my eyes. Could he be anymore RUDE?

"He couldn't have gone far," I said, "Let's see -"

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" asked Hagrid, and I looked up.

Hagrid was standing by us, and Trevor was in his large hands.

"TREVOR!" Neville said, blissfully.

I glared at the other first years when they snickered. Was everyone in the wizarding world this rude? My lord...

"All right then," Hagrid said, "Come on, let's get to the castle. Everyone's a-waitin'."

Hagrid led us up the passageway that ended up at a flat smooth grassy area in the shadow of the castle. We headed up the stone steps and arrived at a huge oak door.

"Everyone here?" Hagrid asked, then eyed Neville, "You there, still got yer toad?"

Neville blushed and nodded, his toad securely in both hands.

Hagrid turned and raised a large fist and knocked on the door three times. The door swung open at once, and I smiled when I recognized Professor McGonagall standing there. Her gaze crossed mine as she looked around at the students, though I didn't detect any hint of a smile that she had given me so many times when we first met. I realized this was her professional persona, a witch you did not want to get in your bad books.

I made a vow right then and there never to do that.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid," McGonagall said, "I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was absolutely enormous. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

We followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. I could hear many voices through a doorway to our right and knew that the rest of the students must already be here. Professor McGonagall led us into a small, empty chamber off the hall. It was very crowded when we all went inside... rather uncomfortable, I hoped we weren't in there for long.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rulebreaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours."

Great... just wonderful. Rule-breaking would lose our house points. I very much hoped right then and there I was not in the same house as Ron Weasley or our house would have chance at the Cup.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on different students, assessing the way they were dressed. I am happy to note that I looked quite proper.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber.

"How exactly do they sort us into Houses?" I heard Harry asked Ron.

"Some sort of test, I think," Ron said, "Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

My eyes grew large. A test? Already.

"Okay," I whispered to myself, "A test is no big deal... what spells have I learned so far? That is surely what they'd test us on, yes. I am sure of it. Scourgify, the cleaning charm... Reparo, the –"

Suddenly a few students nearby screamed, including Neville and I looked up.

"What the –?" Harry gasped.

He did not swear, but if he did I might not have blamed him. The already crowded room had new visitors... ghosts... actual, genuine ghosts! Dozens of them, passing through the chamber, a few of them gliding through walls. A few were talking to each other.

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" a ghost wearing ruff and tights said, "He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"

For a mere moment, I wondered if this was part of the Sorting Ceremony. I tried to think of an answer... but what do you say to a ghost?

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old House, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told us first years, "and follow me."

I got in line between Neville and (unfortunately) Ron. Harry was just ahead of him. We walked out of the chamber, and through a pair of double doors into one of the most beautiful rooms I had ever been in. Some of the rooms in the Louvre museum in Paris are beautiful... this was more beautiful then that!

The Great Hall was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver.

I looked up and the ceiling seemed to extend into the heavens above. I smiled and knew exactly what it was...

"It's bewitched to look like the night sky," I whispered to Neville, who was also looking up in awe, "I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."

Neville nodded. I smiled and looked forward just as we reached the front of the hall. Ahead of us was a spindly-legged stool, and on top of the stool... was a really old-looking hat. I wondered what this had to with the Sorting Ceremony.

Suddenly, the hat moved around, and the rim of it started to resemble a mouth... then it began to sing:

Hopefully I can remember the whole song... it was quite fun and amusing. Let's see...

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._  
_  
You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid _!

_And don't get in a flap_!

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap_!"

I clapped along with the rest of the students and teachers in the hall.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" I heard Ron whisper to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

I rolled my eyes at the silly comment, and realized that "Fred" must have been the same Fred who, along with his twin, scared the wits out of me with that large spider. I'm not surprised that those two were related to this trouble-maker.

However, I was quite relieved and agreeable with Ron's theory... it did seem like we had to try on the hat or something. That seemed easy. Maybe a bit too easy, but you take what you get.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A girl near the front of the line stepped forward and sat on the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on her head, and after a moment's pause...

"HUFFLEPUFF," the hat shouted.

Hannah smiled and jumped off the stool and headed for her designated table.

So, I realized, as Susan Bones was the next to be called, the hat would read our mind and choose which house we'd be in. That seemed like a good way to sort students. I wondered what spells had been placed on the hat to do this... there was not very much information about the Sorting Hat in "Hogwarts, a History".

I did remember, however, as Susan Bones was also placed in Hufflepuff, and Terry Boot was called up next, that the Sorting Hat belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of the Four Founders. Had Godric himself placed the spells on the hat and still worked even though the founders lived a thousand years ago?

Terry was sorted into Ravenclaw, and Mandy Brocklehurst soon followed Terry into the same house.

"Brown, Lavender," McGonagall said.

I smiled as I saw Lavender grin to the Patil sisters and walk up to the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat said, after about thirty seconds.

I briefly clapped right along with the Patils as Lavender made her way to the Gryffindor table.

Millicent Bulstrode became the first Slytherin, and as I looked at the table where she sat down, I realized that they were not a very friendly looking bunch at all. It seemed Lavender and the Patil sisters were right about Slytherin.

But could the whole house be children of people associated in the Dark Arts? I wasn't really sure about that. If so, then why would the Professors allow them into the school?

Fay Dunbar joined Lavender in Gryffindor, and Vincent Crabbe went to Slytherin. As Justin Finch-Fletchley walked up to the hat, I realized I would be called up very soon. I wondered which house I would be in. Would I join Lavender in Gryffindor... or perhaps go in Ravenclaw, which as the hat said, seemed to be a good place for those of ready minds, like myself. Those were the two possibilities in my mind.

Justin was soon named the next Hufflepuff, and the next person called up was Seamus Finnigan, which turned out to be the sandy-haired boy that was in the carriage with the Patils and Lavender. A few moments later, he was declared the first Gryffindor boy for the year.

"Granger, Hermione," Professor McGonagall said.

Okay, I could say that I was proper lady at this moment and walked up to the stool gracefully like a proper lady. I could say that. But I won't. It'd be a lie. Because when she called my name, I basically ran between Ron and Harry (maybe bumping into Ron's shoulder on purpose, just to annoy him) and eagerly sat onto the stool. I noticed Parvati and Padma smiling at me and I smiled back.

"Glad to see you here, Miss Granger," McGonagall whispered.

I smiled at her, as she placed the Sorting Hat on my head... and that was when I heard a voice inside my mind!

"Hmm," the voice said, and I realized it was the Sorting Hat, "My, my, you have quite the brilliant mind for a first year Muggleborn. Could be one of the brightest, or in fact, the brightest in your year!"

I blushed. Me? The brightest? Surely not... would be a nice dream though. It was then that I realized (or hoped) that only I could hear the hat as it talked to me.

"You would do very well in Ravenclaw," the Sorting Hat said, "However, I see a great desire in you that urges to become friends with certain classmates of yours, and they are either already are, or could be in your new house, and that is GRYFFINDOR!"

The last word was said out loud. And get this... I could swear I heard Ron Weasley actually groan... he actually groaned at the fact that I was a Gryffindor. The nerve of him! Ugh!

I hopped off the seat and headed over to the Gryffindor table, where I sat down beside a tall red-headed boy, wearing a badge with the word "prefect" on it... definitely a boy with some authority. And as Anthony Goldstein became a Ravenclaw and Gregory Goyle became the next Slytherin, I started looking around at my fellow house-mates... and it hit me. Ron's twin brothers Fred and George were at the same table, and the prefect next me might just have been their brother as well. And they were all in Gryffindor...

I groaned at the sudden possible revelation going through my head, and realized too late it was at the same exact time Neville's name was called. He looked at me, possibly thinking the groan was for him, and I smiled apologetically. He shrugged and walked slowly up to the hat, where he accidentally fell on his way to the stool. I frowned when a few students around me snickered.

The hat took quite a bit of time to decide which house Neville would be in, but I was the first to cheer when the hat announced "GRYFFINDOR!" and I was still clapping and cheering as he headed over toward my direction...

And realized he was still wearing the Sorting Hat.

I literally felt his embarrassment as he walked back over to Professor McGonagall, who took the hat without a bit of amusement. Neville walked over toward the table and sat next to me.

"Congratulations," I said, as Morag McDougal was the next to be Sorted.

"Thanks," Neville said.

Morag went to Hufflepuff, and Draco Malfoy's name was called. My eyebrows raised... Malfoy? That was the boy Harry and Ron were talking about. Was he the one they had gotten into a fight with. My eyes followed the boy as he walked up to the stool. As soon as the Sorting Hat hit the boy's head, the hat yelled "SLYTHERIN".

It was the quickest sorting decision yet. It seemed Draco Malfoy was the perfect Slytherin. That was not a very cheery thought. Lily Moon was the next girl to join Lavender and myself in Gryffindor, and Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson joined Malfoy in Slytherin.

"Patil, Padma," McGonagall called out, and me, Parvati, Neville, Lavender and Seamus all had grins on our faces.

It only took a few seconds for the Sorting Hat to proclaim her a "RAVENCLAW!", and as Parvati walked up to the stool, I could tell she was a little bit upset about where her sister went into. When the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR", however, Padma clapped right along with me, Neville and Lavender. Parvati smiled at her sister, then sat down beside Lavender. Both of them whispered sadly to each other, and the topic was probably Padma.

Sally-Anne Perks was the next Ravenclaw, and then...

"Potter, Harry," McGonagall said, quite calmly.

Before Harry's name was called, Parvati and Lavender were still whispering to each other. But now they were staring intently, as Harry slowly walked up toward the stool. Many students were doing the same. Others were whispering to each other, and I could hear some of what they were saying.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?"

"He's not a circus act," I muttered in annoyance, as the Sorting Hat was placed on Harry's head.

"Right, you are," the Prefect near me said.

"We met him, you know," Fred whispered, "Isn't that right, Percy? Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Percy, who was the prefect, said. "He seemed normal to me... a bit afraid, but normal."

"I hope he's not normal in your standards, Perce," George said, "That would be dead boring."

Fred snickered, and Percy glared at his twin brothers. But before he could say anything to them the Sorting Hat announced "GRYFFINDOR!"

The entire Gryffindor table cheered. I clapped happily for him... at least with him in my house I could possibly be friends with him much easier than if he was in say... Hufflepuff.

"WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!" Fred and George chanted.

"Oh, shut up, you two!" Percy hissed, then shook Harry's hand. Harry smiled at me, and I smiled back as he took a seat across from me.

Dean Thomas, the black boy who had been in the carriage with the Patils, Lavender and Seamus was sorted next, and became a Gryffindor, taking a spot next to Seamus. Lisa Turpin became a Ravenclaw. Then...

"Weasley, Ronald!" McGonagall called.

"Take your bets, Fred," George said, as Ron walked up to the stool, "What do you say?"

"First Weasley in Slytherin," Fred said, "One galleon."

"Aww, I was going to bet that," George said, "I'll say... no house then! First Weasley sent home!"

I raised my eyebrows in shock, and Harry looked at them in horror. But the grins on George and Fred's faces soon told me they were probably joking.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat announced.

"Figures," Fred and George said in unison, as Ron took a seat next to Harry.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," Percy said.

"Thanks," Ron muttered.

Ron looked at me and I smiled lightly. Ron shrugged, but I saw a hint of a smile in his lips.

Well... it was a start.

Blaise Zabini was the last student to be sorted, and he ended up in Slytherin.

Then the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore stood up and smiled as he looked around at everyone.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

I raised my eyebrows in wonder. What an odd combination of words...

"Thank you!" Dumbledore.

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Then food and drinks of all shapes, sizes and variations appeared on the every table.

"Is he – a bit mad?" Harry asked Percy.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

As I started to dish out food onto my plate, I grinned at the thought of our headmaster being 'a bit mad', and not in the angry way either. More like... well, I'm not sure I could call my own headmaster insane, but if a prefect could then...

Nah, I couldn't...

"That does look good," a voice said nearby, and I recognized him as one of the ghosts who had spoken up to us first years before we entered the Great Hall.

"Can't you -" Harry said, who had paused in his meal.

"I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would _prefer,_" Nicolas said, "you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —"

"_Nearly _Headless?" Seamus interrupted. "How can you be _nearly _headless?"

I giggled when I noticed that Sir Nicholas look extremely miffed. Obviously the discussion annoyed him.

"Like _this,_" he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces.

I was one of those stunned faces... I might have also squealed a bit. It was quite revolting.

And I was EATING!

Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost."

I looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained.

Ugh... did I not mention I was eating?

"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.

"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.

After everyone gorged themselves of the food, it disappeared and the desserts came up next. Soon, the discussion turned to family. Seamus was describing his own, but I was more interested in lessons, so I turned to the prefect Percy.

"Classes start right away, yes?" I asked him.

"Yes," Percy said, "You'll be getting your time-tables tomorrow. Every class is usually in the mornings or afternoons, except for Astronomy, which is usually at midnight... once a week for first years, I think.

"Midnight!" I asked, "Are we not supposed to be in our dorms then? Asleep or something?"

"Curfew is usually at ten-o-clock," Percy said, nodding, "but Professor Sinistra likes her evening classes at midnight...usually last an hour or so."

I instantly knew my sleeping patterns were going to be changing a lot soon!

I needed a better topic.

"I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know," I said, "turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to very difficult.

"Oh, you'll be starting small," Percy said, "just matches into needles and that sort of thing —"

"OUCH!" Harry gasped, making me jump.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"N-nothing," Harry said, though his eyes seemed to be looking toward the Head table at the Professors, "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you?" Percy asked, as he looked toward the Head table, "No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

I looked up toward the teacher in question. Snape wore dark black robes, and had long black hair. He seemed to be looking in our direction, too, even though the Professor in the turban, I assume that was Quirrel, was talking to him. I shivered. Snape was, like Professor McGonagall, definitely not someone I wanted to cross.

Soon, the desserts disappeared too, and Professor Dumbledore stood up. The hall went silent.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat, "just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch."

He paused then continued. "And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

My eyes widened. What kind of warning was that. A few students laughed, and Harry was one of them.

He must have realized this because he looked at Percy.

"He's not serious?" he muttered.

"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore.

He produced a long gold ribbon from his wand, and words formed on the ribbon.

"Everyone pick your favorite tune, and off we go!" he said.

Now this, I remember well, because the song was quite brilliant and cute.

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot._"

The Weasley twins were the last to finish, singing in a slow funeral march, but even Dumbledore hummed merrily with them and conducted them until they finished. And when they did, he was the one to clap the loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

"Okay, first year Gryffindors!" Percy said, as we stood up from the table, "Follow me!"

Since Percy was right by me, I was one of the first in line. Neville joined me, along with Parvati and Lavender. As we headed out into the Great Hall, and toward the staircase, I heard Parvati speak up.

"Wish I could just go say good night to her," she said, sniffling softly, and I knew she was talking about her sister, Padma, "I know she wanted to be in Ravenclaw, but I never dreamed we'd be in different houses. We're twins... it just doesn't seem right, you know?! That ginger-haired boy, the one who seems to be friends with Harry Potter, his brothers are twins and in the same house..."

"You'll see her tomorrow, Parvati," Lavender said, "In classes, right? Come on..."

Parvati nodded and when I noticed her look at me, I gave her an encouraging smile. She smiled back and looked a bit happier.

The Grand Staircase was absolutely enormous, and could rival the Louvre when it came to artwork. It was like a magical art museum, and the portraits here actually moved! Even the staircases moved, which I thought was amusing, even if it was a bit dangerous.

Soon we arrived on the very top floor, the seventh floor, and headed off down the corridor.

Then, up ahead, I saw something very peculiar, a bundle of sticks were floating in the air.

"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself."

A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" Percy asked.

There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.

"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"

He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.

Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. Neville scowled and I smiled at him to cheer him up, as we heard Peeves zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.

"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as we set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."

A portrait stood there, with an enormous lady inhabiting it.

"Password," the lady asked.

"Caput Draconis," Percy said.

The portrait swung open, revealing a small tunnel. I followed Percy through the tunnel, and it led into a marvelous room. A warm fireplace was roaring on the other side of the room near some very comfortable looking furniture. There were also tables and chairs placed around the room as well.

"This is the Gryffindor Common Room," Percy said, "Boys, your dormitories are up the stairs to your left, girls through your right. You'll find your trunks and personal belongings already up there waiting for you. I advise you get to bed soon. Classes start tomorrow. If you have any questions at any time, don't be afraid to come to me, or any of the other prefects. Good evening."

I followed Parvati and Lavender up the stairs, and two other girls, Fay Dunbar and Lily Moon followed us. These four girls would be my dorm-mates for the next seven years. I think we all could be very good friends. As we found our dormitory, I introduced myself to Fay and Lily, prompting a round of introductions. Lily, I discovered was also a Muggleborn, like myself. Good to know we had one thing in common at least, and I didn't feel too lonely knowing someone close-by was in my position.

I found my trunk and carry-on bag by the center bed of the five.

"So Harry Potter is actually here!" Lavender said.

I had no interest in hearing the flirty fan-girl gossip about Harry. So I pulled out my sleeping gown and you, my dear diary, and climbed into bed. I closed the curtains, and put on my gown, and that is where I left off, writing to you.

And now it is time for bed... I have classes tomorrow and I need a good night's rest, especially if it seems I'll probably be up late many nights over the next few months!

Love, Hermione

* * *

**So the first day is over! Lily Moon and Fay Dunbar will not be central characters, but because they are Hermione's dorm-mates, they will be characters seen in different parts of the story!**

**Hopefully I can get another chapter up tomorrow, but I might not be able to depending on internet status... might not be able to update for a few days. We'll see...**


	8. Class Clowns!

**Chapter 8  
Class Clowns**

* * *

**Monday, September 2****nd****, 1991  
Great Hall – Gryffindor Table  
Time: 12:30 PM  
**

Dear Diary,

I suppose I have a few minutes to write to you before I should be headed up to the library. I already have a big essay I need to be working on! Luckily, it is free period until two, then I have to go to Charms. Right now I am in the Great Hall with the rest of the first years and those many other students who don't have classes at this hour.

I see Harry Potter and Ron Weasley have found their way into the Great Hall. I guess that isn't a surprise since this is the third time they've been here, but it seems like the only place, beside the Gryffindor Tower, they can find without getting completely lost.

They were ten minutes late to our first class today, History of Magic, because they had gotten lost! But the teacher, Professor Binns – who is an actual ghost! – just continued his lecture on a goblin named Emeric the Evil, and didn't even notice the boys were late. I asked them why they were so late, and while Ron – still quite rude, I can't understand why – told me it was none of my business, Harry told me they accidentally found themselves down the forbidden third floor corridor and the caretaker Mr. Filch had caught them. I'm not sure if he was lying about it being an accident or not, because the History of Magic classroom wasn't even on the third floor!

After History of Magic, we first year Gryffindors, as well as the Ravenclaws went out to the greenhouses for Herbology. I have to admit, I'm not really one for plants, but for our first class, Professor Sprout gave us a long introduction on different magical plants, and differences between magical and Muggle plants. I have to say it was pretty interesting. Neville Longbottom, however, seemed extremely interested. After Herbology, on our way up here to the Great Hall for lunch, he even talked to me about the class and asked if I liked it then told me it was definitely his favorite class – he's quite excited we have it three days a week.

Let's see... well, other than classes, something else has happened that you might be interested in, dear diary. It seems Parvati and Padma weren't at all very wrong about how everyone would be pretty interested in Harry Potter. Even now, I see students looking over at our table toward him, then whispering to their neighbors. It is very silly, in my opinion. Harry obviously doesn't understand it. I don't think he even read much from his school books this summer... I know he read part of his History of Magic book, because he named his owl, Hedwig, and that was one of the names in the book. Anyway, I tried to tell him just to ignore the stares and whispers, but I'm not sure if he liked my advice.

Well, I better finish up lunch so I can get to the library. That History of Magic essay is not due until a week from tomorrow, but it has to be twelve inches long and we have another round of the class tomorrow and I bet we'll be taking more notes! So I need to get my essay done before my homework starts to pile up!

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Monday, September 2****nd****, 1991  
Common Room – Gryffindor Tower  
Time: 11:30 PM**

Dear Diary,

Yawn. Remember when I said I feared my sleep schedule was going to be completely messed up. I was right. Already an hour-and-a-half past my usual bed-time, and my plans to go to bed around midnight don't seem very accurate. Though late-night studying, even on the first day, seems to be a common thing. Ron's brother Percy is sitting at a table nearby, and while he is working on his homework, he also had the Prefect duties of making sure everyone was in the Common Room by curfew (ten-o-clock), so every now and then, I see him counting heads of students. Must be a tough job, because he has to remember the numbers of students he's already counted who have gone to bed. Harry and Ron, apparently have not missed their bedtime, because they are not here in the Common Room.

Or perhaps, they have once again gotten lost and are somewhere in the castle, an hour-and-a-half past curfew!

Oh, nope... I just asked Percy, and he said he saw his brother and Harry go upstairs an hour ago. I wonder if they have even started on their History of Magic homework, or even read a few pages of the first chapter of "Standard Book of Spells" for Charms. They do seem like the type of boys who will put off their homework until the last minute. I hardly see the point in that!

Charms is definitely my favorite class so far. It has the most spell-work we'll be doing all year, and Professor Flitwick was giving us a preview of all the spells we'd learn this year. I, of course, read up on the spells so I knew what we'd be learning, but to actually see some of those in action was quite wonderful. Professor Flitwick is quite the amusing teacher, I must say. He's half-dwarf or something, so he is quite small, and he had to stand up on a pile of books to teach classes. He was giving out roll-call today, and when he called on Harry Potter's name, he squeaked excitedly and fell off the books!

It seems students aren't the only ones who are excited to see Harry. I still don't understand it completely. I just want to be his friend because he looks like he needs one – even though he seems to already be best friends with Ron. Everyone else – except, perhaps Ron and his brothers – want to be friends with him because he is famous. He doesn't even completely understand why he's famous! Don't they understand that?

Anyway, Transfiguration and Defense are tomorrow. Luckily there is a long free period and lunch in between the two because from the whispers I hear around, those classes seem like the two subjects that we'll get the most homework from. So I need to read up on at least one or two chapters of the Transfiguration book – even though I read it all this past summer - so I can be prepared for the class tomorrow, and I'll save my Defense reading until free period.

I really do need to get to bed sometime soon if I am going to be well-rested for class tomorrow!

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Tuesday, September 3****rd****, 1991  
Library  
Time: 4:30 PM**

Dear Diary

Well, I was right. Transfiguration and Defense does seem like the two classes whose Professors will give us the most homework. I was planning on writing to you during free period today since I only had two classes today, but Professor McGonagall gave us a load of homework today.

We had to practice, as Percy Weasley had predicted, turning matchsticks into needles. It is quite difficult. Most of the class didn't get very far, but Professor McGonagall gave me a smile today when she saw that my matchstick had turned silver and nicely pointy. I guess the Sorting Hat was right about me. I do seem to be one of the students ahead of the rest of the class in a few subjects. Though I must say the best part of class today was when Professor McGonagall turned her desk into a pig at the start of class. It was quite amusing to see other students in class looking as if they thought we'd learn how to do that already. If they'd have read the Transfiguration book at all, they'd have seen that object-to-animal transfiguration is very complex. I hardly doubt we will even begin that this year – maybe not even next year!

Professor McGonagall also told us that "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts" then warned us that if we do not pay attention, she'll remove us from class and we won't come back. My bet is on Harry and Ron to be the first two students who are removed from the class. They are the definition of class clowns! They were a couple minutes late, and Professor McGonagall threatened to transfigure one of them into a map so the other could find their way to class! It was quite amusing to see the looks on their faces.

Defense class was – well, how should I put this – kind of underwhelming. Professor Quirrel stutters and titters a lot and sometimes I could hardly understand him. He seems to be quite afraid of some of the things he teaches. For his introduction on the class, he told us his turban he wears was a thank-you gift from an African prince for frightening off a terrifying zombie. I'm not sure I can believe him or not. Because when Seamus Finnigan asked him how he fought off the zombie, Professor Quirrel laughed nervously and started talking about – of all things – the weather! Then he told us to read the first chapter of our textbook and answer questions. The first chapter didn't have anything to do with zombies. Oh... and did I mention Quirrel's classroom smells curiously like garlic? Lily Moon, one of my dorm-mates, said she heard from older students that it was to ward off vampires.

We also had another round of History of Magic today. Professor Binns talked more about Emeric the Evil, as we took notes. I learned quite a bit more today, and I might have to add more of that information into my essay. Do you think Professor Binns will mind if my essay is six inches longer than it is supposed to be? Luckily there is only two lessons for History of Magic a week. Even I am not sure how much of Professor Binns' monotone voice I can take. Today, Ron Weasley even fell asleep during class!

Do I REALLY have to be friends with him if I want to be friends with Harry Potter? Unfortunately it seems so since they are best friends already. Oh joy. At the moment, being friends with Harry doesn't seem so appetizing. I mean... he and Ron are the biggest class clowns I've ever come across!

Well, at least there wasn't as much homework for Defense as I predicted, just some book-reading. But combine that with the book-reading for Transfiguration and practicing more on the matchstick-to-needle transformation, plus reading up more in "Standard Book of Spells" since we have another round of Charms first thing tomorrow, and it starts to pile up. I've already been quite busy.

I was planning on some free time after dinner, but I took a look at my schedule for tomorrow, and our first Astronomy class takes place at midnight tomorrow and lasts until half-past-one... luckily Astronomy is only once a week, so I can wait for that homework until the weekend. But even then, it will be nearly two-o-clock Thursday morning before I will be able to go to bed! Luckily, our first class on Thursday isn't until ten-o-clock in the morning. So I definitely need to go to bed pretty early tonight. Especially since I only had about six hours of sleep last night.

Almost time for dinner... gotta go!

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Thursday, September 4****th****, 1991  
My Bed – 1****st**** Years Girls Dorm – Gryffindor Tower  
Time: 8:15 AM**

Dear Diary,

Sleep. Sleep. Wonderful sleep!

Did I mention how happy I am that my first class today isn't until ten-o-clock? Well, I am. Especially since I didn't get to sleep last night until half-past-two this morning!

In Charms class yesterday, we started practicing Light Charms, which causes the tip of our wands to light up. It has two different spells – one to turn on the light (Lumos) and one to extinguish it (Nox). I was able to light up my wand, but the downwards thrust needed to extinguish it can be a pain in the elbow... especially when you thrust your arm down and it slams onto your desk. So I didn't do very well on that spell. I just need to practice more, I guess.

I decided to sit next to Harry and Ron today, just as an experiment to see if I could stand being friends with them in the near future, and I got stuck next to Ron. This wasn't the best idea, because Ron's not very good at the wand movements needed for a few spells, and I had to duck at least twice to avoid being hit by his wand when he tried to light it up. It didn't help we were practicing the spells in the dark for most of the class either!

In Herbology, we started to draw a depiction of Devil's Snare seedlings so we could study and label the parts. We aren't having to take care of them yet – though I expect we'll be doing that on Friday. Even then, we still had to touch them to see different parts to draw, and it wasn't easy. Devil's Snare is a very dangerous plant and even baby versions put up a fight. They have a defense system where when you touch their vines, they will try to wrap themselves around you. All throughout class, students were prying vines from their fingers. Ron's plant even stole his wand away from him, and Professor Sprout said he was lucky his wand didn't snap in two.

And then there was Astronomy. I told you it took place at midnight. It also takes place on top of a tall tower, and up that high it gets quite chilly. It is very hard to look through telescopes when your hands are shivering, even when Professor Sinistra cast warming spells on us!

Today is another round of Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I really hope I can successfully turn my matchstick into a needle today. I've been working on it quite a bit since Monday.

Well, I better get dressed if I want to get some breakfast in the Great Hall before it disappears... literally!

Love, Hermione

P.S. One of my dorm-mates snores... I think it is Lavender Brown.

* * *

**Friday, September 5****th****, 1991  
Library  
Time: 4:00 PM**

Dear Diary,

Today I discovered the delights of he who is named Professor Snape.

Wait... did I say delights? I meant horror.

He is quite possibly the most horrible teacher I have ever come across! I don't mean he is bad at teaching... he's quite good. But he is so mean... especially to us Gryffindors and one in particular – Harry Potter. He also had the nerve to yell at me too, and all I wanted to do was answer a few questions he asked!

Breathe, Hermione.

Okay, maybe I should start from the beginning.

It is a good thing we only have Potions once a week, because it is what is known as a Double Class – which means three full hours in a stifling hot classroom down in the dungeons. I was already sweating the moment I walked in there after lunch – which was earlier than usual today, because we had to be in Potions at noon.

I decided, once again, to sit next to Harry and Ron. Though I had enough sense to sit next to Harry this time instead of Ron. Class was with the Slytherins today, and the boy named Draco Malfoy seemed quite arrogant as he sat with his classmates. I have a feeling he admires Professor Snape – though it isn't surprising, since Snape is the head of Slytherin house.

Snape started class by doing roll-call. Snape only glared at me when I raised my hand in the air and said "present!" when he called my name.

I should have known then class wasn't going to go very well.

A minute later, he called out Harry's name. Well, he didn't exactly call it out like the others... he decided to comment on it too.

"Ah, _yes,_" Snape said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — _celebrity._"

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Harry frowning and glaring at Snape. I couldn't blame him. Teachers are not supposed to taunt students, and Snape was taunting him!

It also didn't help that Draco Malfoy and his friends were snickering. Professor Snape should have told them to be quiet, but he didn't seem all too bothered by it.

After he finished roll call, he began his introduction to the class:

"You are here," he said, "to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Dunderheads? Really?! Well, I, of course was going to prove to Professor Snape that I was not a dunderhead!

After this speech, Snape once again set his sights on his new favorite target.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry looked as if he didn't have a clue what Snape had said. I did, of course, so I raised my hand. Of course, Professor Snape only ignored me. Seriously... I had my hand raised to answer the question and Snape ignored me!

Hmmph!

"I-I don't know, sir," Harry said.

"Tut, tut," Snape taunted, "clearly fame isn't everything."

Fame? I don't even think Harry wants to be famous!

As I said, Snape ignored my hand, and just asked Harry another question.

"Let's try again," he said, "Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

I knew what this was too. So I raised my hand higher. I don't know why I did. Snape could easily see me. But I guess I hoped he would have asked me instead and not taunted Harry, who clearly didn't know the answer.

Of course... Snape can't read minds (at least I hope not!), so he only ignored me once again... and when Harry once again said he did not know, Snape taunted him again:

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

Well, okay... he had a point there, but still! He could have asked ME if I knew!

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape asked.

Okay, I admit it. I was quite upset at this point that I actually stood up and kept my hand raised. The only person who cared, it seemed... was Harry.

"I don't know," Harry said. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

And all we got for it was more snickering from Malfoy and his friends. Our fellow Gryffindors seemed pleased.

Unfortunately Snape was not.

"Sit down," he snapped at me.

So I did. I was quite unhappy too. I don't know if Snape hates me or what, but any other teacher would have let me answer those questions. What is his problem, anyway?

"For your information, Potter," Snape continued, "asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

I was copying it down already... even though I had already known the answers. Of course Snape didn't seem to care. I'm sure the glare he gave me was because I wasn't looking at him when I was writing what he was saying. I can multitask, you know!

"And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter," Snape added.

Cheek? Cheek! He was only telling the Professor that I knew the answers. Really... it should have been me who had the point taken away, not Harry. Harry doesn't deserve that. Snape really hates him and I wish I knew why.

I thought Snape would lecture us some more on something, since he really seems to like to hear his own voice, but he wanted us to start on the first potion of the year – a potion to cure boils.

I paired up with Lily Moon, and we started to work on the ingredients.

I thought I was doing fairly well with my ingredients... crushing the snake fangs and weighing dried nettles, but Snape had even decided to criticize me because I had not turned on the fire under my cauldron yet. I had a precise order of doing things, and I didn't want to burn my cauldron by turning it on before my ingredients were ready. He didn't seem to understand that. He also didn't seem to like my choice in partners – in fact, Snape said Lily's name in a really strange way. I wasn't sure why, but Lily seemed to think it had to do with the fact we are both Muggleborn. I didn't think that was very fair... but then again, Snape didn't seem the type to play fair.

Oh, and it seems Snape has a Professor's Pet in Draco Malfoy. Of course he does... the two seem like the perfect pair. Snape had even congratulated him and told the class just how well Draco had stewed his slugs in his potion. I was sure mine looked better.

And then, nearby, clouds of green smoke started to fill the air and I was saddened to see it was coming from Neville Longbottom's area. He and Seamus Finnigan were partnered up, and Seamus' cauldron looked as if it had actually melted! Then the potion started to seep onto the floor, and myself and the rest of the class had to get onto our stools to avoid it. Unfortunately, Neville didn't avoid it, because red boils had sprang up on his arms and legs. He looked like he was in a lot of pain too.. I really felt bad for him.

Even worse, Snape decided to yell at him.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.

"You — Potter," he spat, "why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

Did I not mention how unfair Snape was? Harry and Ron had been concentrating on their own potion! How were they supposed to help Neville with anything? Seamus was his partner!

The only good thing about class was Snape let us out thirty minutes early, though he did assign us a twelve-inch essay on describing the potion ingredients needed for the boil cure potion. I could tell Harry was really angry with Snape, and I wanted to talk to him about Snape, but I heard Ron ask Harry if he could go to Hagrid's with him for tea. Since I was not invited, I decided to come to the library, where I am now.

I have a bit of homework, and since I have all weekend to do it, I think I'll only finish labeling my diagram of the Devil's Snare. Right, almost forgot Herbology was my other class today. We had that this morning. Even though were were now taking care of the plants, watering them and adding dragon dung manure (which really stinks!) to the plants, we were also asked to finish our drawings. That class is going to get quite repetitive I think, especially since we have it three times a week!

I know I shouldn't put off my homework until this weekend, but I am still fuming from how mean Professor Snape is, so I can hardly concentrate, and it would be better for me to relax now and work on homework when I am calm enough to actually do some good work.

Hmm... I think I might walk around the corridors of the castle after dinner tonight and explore. Might even talk to a painting or two. I bet they have fascinating stories of the painters who did their portraits. It could be quite the learning experience. Imagine what the Louvre would be like if the paintings there moved and talked. Mona Lisa would be interesting to talk to, and The Last Supper would be quite interesting to watch if the inhabitants of the paintings moved around!

Better finish up that diagram while I'm thinking about. Maybe I'll write to you some more tonight and tell you about my explorations.

Love, Hermione

* * *

**Friday, September 5****th****, 1991  
My Bed – 1****st**** Years Girls Dorm – Gryffindor Tower  
Time: 9:30 PM**

For the first time since we spoke on the train, I actually had a – sorta - decent conversation with Harry and Ron.

They were discussing something together on the couch near the fireplace in the common room, so I decided to go over and see what they were doing.

"Writing essays getting too boring for you?" Ron asked, when he spotted me sitting down in the chair across from the couch.

"No, I just decided it can wait until this weekend," I said, "I needed some time off too, you know. I actually just got finished exploring a few parts of the castle."

"You? Explore the castle?" Harry asked, "Instead of doing homework?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, offended, "Maybe I wanted to try to find a shortcut or two so I could get to classes much faster! Maybe you could learn a thing or two about that, since you were late to over half of our classes this week! Professor McGonagall might actually turn you into a pocket-watch next time you're late!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Harry said.

I harrumphed then noticed Harry holding what looked like a newspaper article.

"What is so important there?" I asked.

"When did you decide to be nosy?" Ron asked.

"I'm only asking!" I scoffed; god, he is such a rude little boy.

Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged. Harry handed me the newspaper article.

"Keep it," Harry said, "We memorized it."

"You actually memorized something?" I asked, earning a glare from Harry and Ron.

I still have the article... I'll copy it here to the diary.

* * *

**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST**

Investigations continue into the break-in at  
Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the  
work of Dark wizards or witches unknown.  
Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing  
had been taken. The vault that was searched had in  
fact been emptied the same day.

"But we're not telling you what was in there, so  
keep your noses out if you know what's good  
for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.

* * *

"31 July?" I asked after I had read the article, "Isn't that your birthday, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry said.

"Isn't that the day you went to Diagon Alley?" I asked.

"How do you know that?" Harry asked, "I never told you that."

"Oh," I blushed; me and my big mouth! "I – um – heard about it."

"Never picked you out as one of those girls who like to gossip about me," Harry muttered.

"I don't!" I said, "I heard it from one of Hagrid's friends who I met in Diagon Alley, and my family had dinner with the bloke last month."

Harry looked at me skeptically.

"So... do you know what these thieves were after?" I asked him.

"All I know is Hagrid took something from a vault that day," Harry said, "Said it was 'Hogwarts business, very secret'."

"So whatever he took was whatever could have been the target!" I said, "Since the vault was emptied the same day."

"Yeah," Harry said, "that is what we thought too."

"Probably not important," Ron said, "So, hey, did you see the notice pinned up on the notice board? Flying Lessons start next Thursday! Are you going, Hermione?"

"Flying?" I asked, frowning.

"Yeah, you know – broomsticks!" Ron said.

"Oh... right," I said, "Yeah..."

"Class is optional," Harry said, "But we're going. Ron thinks I might actually be a good flier."

"You could be," Ron said, "You have the build for it. As for you, Hermione – err -"

"Flying on broomsticks sounds really dangerous," I said, "I might go... but... well, I need to think about it first. I mean, if I don't go, it would give me time to catch up on my classwork that I am sure will pile up next week!"

"You... miss a class?" Harry asked, grinning, "Are you sure?"

"It is optional!" I growled, blushing.

I stopped talking to them after that. I don't even know why I bother. I want to be their friend, but they are so rude!

So... yeah... I have nearly a week to think about whether or not I will attend Flying Lessons. I know I told you a few weeks ago that it sounds fairly interesting, and I was imagining flying on a broom when I was on that plane-ride to Paris, but... I dunno. Seems terribly frightening. So I'll think about it.

For now, I should get some sleep. Loads of homework to do tomorrow. And it is only the end of the first week.

Oh... you know, I haven't written to my parents yet, and haven't gotten a letter from them either! I really should write to them tomorrow. Maybe if I ask really nicely, Harry will let me borrow Hedwig. She is a very beautiful owl.

Good night, dear diary.

Love, Hermione

* * *

**So... there's the first week of classes. It was so hard figuring out the schedule of classes, because there was no clear schedule in the book. Herbology is three times a week, Astronomy is Wednesday evening, a Transfiguration class on Thursday and Double Potions Friday, and the other classes have no clear day. So hopefully you think the schedule is okay!**

**Next chapter... the flying lessons and more! It will be so much fun to write!**

**Hope you liked this chapter. Snape's class, and the last entry (the trio discussion) was so much fun to write! Also, I have a new favorite quote in my story so far: "Sleep. Sleep. Wonderful sleep!"**

Not sure when the next chapter will go up... doing this at the library right now because of no internet at home and just learned the library will be closing a week from the day I posted this, because of a new library opening at the end of the month... by then I will probably have my internet at home again, so I might not be able to update at all until closer to the end of the month!


End file.
